A Leap
by Itsthegilmoregirls
Summary: What happens when Rory Gilmore gets a job in San Francisco? Will she reunite with a young Mr. Huntzberger? Or will it be too late?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi guys! This is my first fanfic so bear with me! This is ROGAN about six months after Rory graduates Yale (when the show leaves off). Basically I refuse to accept that such a perfect couple would break up like that so this is me showing how I think it should have finished. Enjoy! Reviews are more than welcome!

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Gilmore Girls.**

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_ "Logan….hi it's me…Rory…Rory Gilmore. I mean I don't think you know more than one Rory but just in case…how are you doing? I mean it's been a little while…"_ Oh my God Rory stop rambling! She thought to herself furiously before continuing her message _"Well anyways here's the thing…The campaign trail job is done and I actually got a job as a staff writer for a newspaper. The San Francisco Chronicle actually…"_ She paused again. Wondering if she had made the right decision. Not just the phone call, but taking the job in the first place. _"I guess I just wanted to call and let you know I'd be in the area…it's a big city and so we probably won't see each other...unless you want to...and I understand if you want your space but I thought I'd just let you know…Well I guess I hope everything is going well and you're doing alright and everything...Okay bye Logan."_ Rory quickly shut her phone and just stared at the flashing screen for a couple of moments. The entire duration of her call was forty-three seconds. Not even a minute. Blue eyes still locked on the digits she sighed. She didn't know what to say to him. She had pictured that exact moment in her mind thousands of times. She had a whole notebook full of pro-con lists revolving around the first time she tried contacting Logan Huntzberger again or visa versa. But now the moment had passed and all there was left to do was wait.

Although when asked she would profusely deny it, the blonde-haired, brown-eyed boy with the famous smirk was still on her mind constantly. She knew she didn't need a man to be whole or to be happy, but for now Rory had to convince herself that these months were the transition period; the in-between stages where it was still okay to not feel whole without Logan there. _I mean we were in a committed relationship for almost three years. There has to be some sort of an allowed period for this kind of thing. There has to be. Right?_ It was her logical explanation for every time her mother asked, Lane asked, Paris demanded...She just needed some time.

The last time she remembered being truly happy was at the Bon Voyage party Stars Hollow and all its infamous residents had thrown her upon her departure for her first job in the real world. Well, after college that is. _And after Logan…_She thought to herself. The party had been a bittersweet end of a very big part of Rory's life, her childhood. She was no longer a kid, no longer a teen, and no longer in school. She didn't have the excuse of youth to hide behind when she made silly mistakes anymore. She didn't have time to mess around anymore. Some might have argued otherwise, but Rory had buried herself in her work, writing constantly. Whether it was for the online magazine about the trail or a freelance project, her writing became her world. She knew that if she slowed down for a nanosecond that everything would catch up to her. And she couldn't let that happen.

After six months of terrible gas station coffee, bus rides, and bad motels, Rory knew this wasn't for her. She wasn't giving up, she merely came to the conclusion that perhaps working for a paper with a more permanent location was more up her alley. Of course, traveling for journalism was still something she quite enjoyed, but the monotony of an election long before any actual electing was to take place was too much. Coincidentally, one of her good friends on the trail happened to be very influential at a successful newspaper and had managed to get her an interview for a permanent writing position. The job was perfect. The interview went extremely well and before she knew it she was offered the position. She would be doing what she loved full time while living in an incredible city. The only issue was _which _incredible city the newspaper was located in and its proximity to a certain former flame. So, Rory got on the phone with her boss, emailed her notice of leave, found a replacement, packed her bags, and kissed the days of bus rides goodbye. She was headed to California.

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AN: Well that's it for the first chapter! It's not all that fantastic but it will get better I promise! The first two chapters or so will just be background. Constructive criticism is always welcome!


	2. Chapter 2

Logan stared at the almost empty glass of scotch in his hand, slightly oblivious to the fact that the seat next to him was occupied by a gorgeous blonde who, three years ago, Logan would have already taken back to his apartment in order to...get to know her better. But it wasn't three years ago. The poor girl was yapping his ear off about some charity function only accessible to someone belonging to a very elite selection of Hartford society, failing to notice his lack of attention.

"Logan? Uhm are you listening?" She impatiently tapped a single professionally-manicured pink nail on the counter, giving him a look of disbelief as if she couldn't comprehend why he didn't find her story fascinating.

"What? Oh sorry..." Logan didn't feel very sorry at all. His mind was elsewhere, thinking about how this conversation might be different if a certain reporter girl was sitting beside him instead. Truth be told he had no idea what this girl had been saying for the last ten minutes. Her name may have slipped his mind as well...she was another society princess whose last name probably had some significance in the world of the DAR and Connecticut country clubs. Vanessa? Valerie? Veronica? Oh yeah. Veronica. That's what it was. Before he had a chance to elaborate, Veronica had moved on.

"Whatever." She said, downing the rest of her drink. "Do you want to get out of here or something?" Her tone changed slightly, adding a little bit of an innuendo to her sentence. She peered at him through luxuriously long lashes, aided by layers and layers of expensive makeup.

"Huh? Oh hey listen I'm sorry. I can't. I...have to be somewhere..." He stammered. "It was nice running into you though..." He pulled out a twenty dollar bill and placed it under his now-empty cup and left as quickly as he could. He didn't mean to be rude, but the truth is he wasn't all that into the whole one-night-stand concept anymore. And it wasn't that he didn't like sex, he was Logan Huntzberger after all, it was more that he just didn't find any use for meaningless relations with women whose IQs were lower than a middle schooler's. He knew it was silly but he also felt that maybe, just maybe, he didn't want to sleep around because there was a chance, no matter how small, that Rory Gilmore would come back into his life.

Logan was home in Connecticut for the weekend seeing as Honor had some "big announcement" that he "absolutely positively had to be there for." And if there was one thing Logan couldn't do, it would be intentionally letting down his sister. California was almost like an escape for him. No restaurants they used to frequent, no people they used to know, no memories with her. He could just throw himself into his work and try his best to ignore his broken heart. But it was Honor and she was his one savior growing up, so he was back in his hometown, surrounded by all the people, places, and things that made him just that much more eager to leave. All of the things that reminded him of her.

Maybe he was stupid for proposing to her. Maybe it was all his fault. He replayed those final conversations in his mind time after time again, trying to find the exact moments everything went so wrong. He had been so sure that she would say yes. That she loved him enough to want to be his wife. But that wasn't her answer. And he tried the whole ultimatum approach because he couldn't bring himself to move backwards with her. But that had backfired and the end result made the captain of the Titanic look like a hero. He lost her. She didn't want to be his wife and he couldn't go back to long-distance. So there was the end to his relationship with the love of his life. The only girl he ever truly cared about besides his sister. The center of his world for the last two years. Just like that. Gone.

He knew she was working as a reporter for an online magazine while following the Obama campaign trail. Logan had never been one for politics, but he couldn't help looking up her articles. She had the nickname "Ace" for a reason, Rory Gilmore was a truly talented writer. She could make the most boring subject matters comical or ironic, adding her own flair to the seemingly endless parade of speeches, interviews, and public appearances. Reading her work was almost like having her with him. It was sad that the only way he could hear her voice was by googling her work, but he was glad too. He was glad that he had this little piece of her still with him.

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Alright so not my best writing-wise but I'm just trying to set up their thought processes. You know I never understood why people loved reviews so much...until I started getting them! Next chapter will have some Rogan in it so don't worry xx should be out soonish but you know, it helps to know people are interested in the story *hint hint*


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Thank you so much for everyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed! It means a lot :) Anyways back to the story! Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. Things would be verrryyy different if I did. But alas this world is a cruel place ;)

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_Back in Palo Alto..._

With an audible groan, Logan began the slow process of waking up. Slamming his hand on the "off" button on his alarm clock, he wiped the sleep out of his eyes before collapsing back on the pillows for another moment. He didn't like mornings. Never really had. Considering in previous years he had more often than not woken up with a sizable hangover, this aversion to daybreak made sense. This particular morning was especially terrible considering the slight jet lagg due to the fact that he had just returned from New England. Honor and Josh were pregnant and wanted the whole family there to hear the announcement. He was glad he could be there for her, but he was loathing the time-zone difference at the moment. Beyond even that there was a new air of sadness to his morning routine. He missed waking up to the warmth of a certain brunette next to him or the way he would open his eyes to find her running around the apartment, already on her fourth or fifth cup of coffee. He missed waking up with a smile knowing that the person he loved more than anything was merely a few inches away. The sight of her in her pajamas, hair messy, make-up free, eyes shut, lying next to him haunted him everyday.

Finally getting up from the comfort of his bed, Logan yawned, walking over to his desk to check his email. Often times the odd message would appear in his inbox at an ungodly hour, asking for his approval on one issue or another. Shuffling over to his makeshift office area, he saw the screen of his phone flashing, indicating a notification of some kind. Glancing down at it, he realized the voicemail and missed call icons were lighting up. Expecting it to be someone from work or yet another phone call from his mom telling him that he wasn't home enough and now that Honor was pregnant, he should really be there. The haze of sleep still clouding his mind, he was anything but prepared to see the name that flashed on his cell phone screen. Flipping his phone open, he read the only three letters that could have this much of an impact. The three leaders he hadn't anticipated reading ever again;

Ace

(1) Missed call (1) New Voicemail

He hadn't changed her name in his phone. He thought about it for awhile, but when it came down to it, he couldn't bring himself to think about referring to her as anything other than that nickname. Not yet at least. Now he regretted that decision. Seeing his pet name for her flash in front of him was almost surreal and certainly something he realized he hadn't expected.

His mind raced a mile a minute. _What would she even be calling me about?_ He hadn't heard from her in six whole months. Why now? Did she want him back? Now that that was honestly under consideration, would he take her back? Could he even bring himself to listen to her message? Could he _not_ listen to it? He began pacing then; running a hand through his purposefully messy blonde hair. He had thought about this situation so many times, but he never thought that it would happen like this. More so, he never thought that he would feel like this when it happened. He paced around his apartment for a good twenty minutes before realizing he was going to be late for work. "Shit." He muttered to himself before rushing to shower and get dressed. Ten minutes later he was out the door, Rory's message still on his voicemail, the image of her name still on his mind.

* * *

It had been two days since she left her message for Logan. Two whole days. Rory was still trying to avoid thinking about the fact that he hadn't bothered to even text back. She was back in Stars Hollow for a couple of weeks before she was due to make the move to California. Once there, she was to stay in a hotel, paid for by the paper, until she found a decent living arrangement. Conveniently, her rapid departure after graduating Yale meant that all of her stuff was stil packed for the most part. Graduation. She winced, not wanting to relive that painful memory yet again. _Too late._ She thought to herself as the heartbreaking image of Logan walking away from her began playing its mental loop again. In desperate need of some TLC, Gilmore style, she headed for Luke's.

_A half hour later..._

"Lukkkeeeee could I get some more coffee please?" She batted her long lashes at him, flashing her signature innocent look.

"You know you're starting to turn into your mother. This coffee addiction is going to comeback to haunt you, you know. When you two end up in the hospital with some rare-caffeine induced illness..." He grumbled in a way only Luke Danes could, but he still filled her mug for the fourth time that day.

"I'll take that as a compliment," she smiled smugly and then laughed, knowing Luke had disapproved of her caffeine habits since day one. Taking a large sip from her freshly-filled cup, Rory closed her eyes and sighed. "You know Iowa's 7-11s shouldn't even be allowed to call that gross stuff they sell coffee. Now this on the other hand..."

It was his turn to laugh before turning to grab a plate from Cesar. "I'll take that as a compliment." He placed a piece of pie in front of her before walking off to serve someone else. Talking over his shoulder, he called out to the girl who was now devouring the closest thing to fruit she would touch, "Your meal is on the house. Welcome home Rory."

"It's good to be back." Knowing full well her return was to be short lived, she sighed before taking another gulp of her drink.

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Logan had been debating whether or not he should listen to Rory's message for two whole days. He had even made a pro/con list at some point. But he knew that he was being childish for not listening. He was just running away from his problems. And Logan knew he shouldn't do that. _In omnia paratus*_ he sighed, smiling slightly before hitting "listen."

"Logan..." Hearing her say his name...oh God. He closed his eyes and suddenly was very unsure of how he was going to get through the entire thing.

He finished listening to the message and leaned back against his headboard, eyes shut. To anyone else she would have sounded good. Normal. Maybe a little enthusiastic at times. But he knew her. God, he knew her so well. He knew her well enough to sense exactly what she meant behind the reservation in the pauses, as if she was wondering if she had made the right choice by calling him. And to be honest, right now, he wasn't sure. Half of him was just so relieved to hear her voice again that he didn't care that they would soon be faced with the very-real issue of living within close proximity to each other which, may or may not be a bad thing. But the other half was making very tempting arguments which suggested that throwing his phone at the wall would be an appropriate course of action.

Logan's mind frantically tried to assess the situation logically, but there was too much going on to process everything. She would be here. In California. Working at a really great newspaper. He was happy she was doing well. He could honestly say that. But why San Francisco? And why did she have to tell him? The City was huge and the odds of them crossing paths, especially seeing as he lived about forty-five minutes away in Palo Alto, was slim. Almost impossible. But there had to be an emphasis on the almost. And he knew why she called. She really did have good intentions. He got that. But he just didn't know if he could handle it quite yet. Because if hearing her voice could make him this worked up, he couldn't even begin to imagine what seeing that face would do to him.

Now he had to figure out what he was going to do next. As much as he may want to, he couldn't very well simply ignore her message. He wasn't that much of a jerk. But he also couldn't imagine what talking to her on the phone would be like. He knew it was lame, but she had been the center of his world for so long, and now he had to adjust to the fact that she wasn't even a part of it anymore. It was a lot to take in for a guy like him. A guy who had never been in a committed relationship. The kind of guy that snuck out of the room before the ditzy but beautiful girl woke up. The kind of guy that would never have imagined falling so hard and so fast for a journalist with aspirations for a library that rivaled the one in Beauty and the Beast and an actual good relationship with her mother. But he had. And as much as it hurt right now, he knew that his heart still belonged to her. It always would.

So he pressed "return call."

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Originally I was going to have them actually talk on the phone this chapter (or have him never get the message because he changed his number or something), but I decided to save the convo for next chapter :) What do you guys think so far? Remember this is just getting started ;) Any suggestions on what should happen next? I have a few ideas but I would love to hear your opinions!


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Hey guys thank you so much for all of the reviews! I love reading them! Well here's the next chapter! Enjoy! Most of it is Rory's pov but there are a couple small Logan sections.

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"Fruit of my loins!" Rory woke up to find her mother bounding into her room, obviously already on her third or fourth cup of coffee.

"Ugggghhhhhhh." Rory threw one pillow at an overly active Lorelai and used the other to cover her head, attempting to block out the noise.

"Oh darling daughter of mine rise and shine…hey!" She exclaimed, dodging the pillow.

"No rising. No shining." Rory muttered, unsure of why she was being so rudely awoken.

"I have coffeeeeeeee."

"Nope"

"Yep"

"Let me see it and maybe I'll consider."

"You don't trust your own mother?" Lorelai feigned horror, covering her open mouth with a hand.

"Still don't know why I have to get up."

"It's 8 o'clock. The whole world is up!"

Flashing back to an earlier conversation, she sighed before responding, "Keith Richards isn't up. Pete Doherty isn't up." _Great. You literally just got up and you're already thinking about Logan. Snap out of it Rory, don't do this to yourself._ She kept her thoughts to herself, but let out an audible sigh. Beginning the motions of getting up she threatened, "you better have coffee."

"When do I not have coffee?"

"Must I remind you of the grocery incident of 2001?"

"Hey! One time!" Lorelai whined, upset at the memory being brought up. It was a truly horrible day. It involved a coffee-free morning and two very cranky Gilmore Girls.

"Still happened."

"Well you see, this is why I flirt with the diner boy, endless supply" Lorelai winked at her daughter suggestively.

Rolling her eyes in response Rory retorted, "Oh I think more than flirting is involved."

"You said it not me," she smirked while wiggling her eyebrows.

"Dirty! But nope, nope don't want to hear it. Less talking. More coffee." Rory held her hands up as if to caution against Lorelai's next statement.

"I knew I raised you right." It was Rory's turn to smirk before finally getting out of bed.

Two minutes later Rory padded into the kitchen. "You better have a good reason for waking me up…" Taking the mug of coffee from her mother's hand, she sat down at the table.

"You've been sleeping a lot hon." The joking tone in Lorelai's voice was replaced with one of sincere concern.

Rolling her eyes Rory explained, "I've been on the road sleeping in crappy hotels with crappy coffee and getting up at ungodly hours for six months. What do you expect?"

"Rory…are you sure that's _it_?"

Rory had known where her mom was going with this for a while now. Exhaling loudly she replied, "I'm fine. It's been six months mom."

"Yeah but you didn't get proper wallowing time! You left for the trail right after graduation! And now with this move to San Francisco…"

"Mom I'm fine. But if it makes you feel better we'll have a wallowing session one night before I leave okay?"

"Fine. I'm just worried. That's all."

"I know. But really, I'm okay."

But deep in her heart, or maybe not so deep after all, she whispered, "Or I will be eventually. I hope."

* * *

Rory ventured into Doose's a few hours later in order to stock up for an evening of sugar and Drew Barrymore. Scanning the all too familiar junk food asile, she figured she had covered all the bases. Sweet, sour, sweet and sour, ice cream, whipped cream, candy, chips, popcorn...Her basket was filled with the best Stars Hollow had to offer with the exception of pie (she was headed to Weston's to pick that up later). Satisfied, she headed toward the registers.

While Taylor rang up her purchases, she heard a familiar voice say her name.

"Rory honey! So good to see you home!" Miss Patty walked over, arms open in preparation for a hug.

Laughing, Rory replied, "Hi Miss Patty, I saw you yesterday though!"

"I know sugar, but Stars Hollow isn't the same without you."

"Aw thanks" she blushed, knowing that not many people knew of her moving plans and feeling a little guilty.

"So sugar, how's that boy toy of yours? Still hot and heavy? Mmmm he did have the cutest little butt." Miss Patty winked, completely unaware.

"Oh well we…" Her voice faltered, not knowing how many times she could say those horrible words.

"Honey you're bag is vibrating…" Miss Patty interrupted, noticing the movement of Rory's purse.

Caught up in her own little world for a moment she hadn't noticed the alert. "Oh sorry Miss Patty…if you'll excuse me?"

Quickly paying an impatient Taylor for her groceries, Rory fumbled around her purse looking for her phone. She found it just as she stepped out of the market.

Her mouth dropped open a little bit as she read the screen.

_Logan Huntzberger_

Slipping her hand through the handle of the grocery bag she flipped open her phone.

"Hello?" She tried to stay as calm as possible, not wanting him to be aware of how nervous she was.

"Hi Rory…I uh got your message."

"Oh yeah…I'm sorry if I was bothering you. I just…I just wanted to let you know." She sucked in her breath, desperately trying to hold in the flood of words that threatened to erupt.

"No, no you weren't bothering me. Don't even think that. It was just…a surprise. So you'll be in The City huh?" She sensed the hesitancy and wondered how much thought he had to put into making this call. _Four days worth_ she smirked to herself.

"Yeah…it's a great job. They normally don't hire staff writers off the bat and they actually weren't hiring but this girl Bri made a few calls and somehow I got it. I mean it's going to be tough and all but I think it will be a good thing."

"I'm really glad you're doing well A—Rory." He sounded sincere. But both parties were treading over thin ice, neither wanting to break the precarious balance that was keeping them above waters. His slip up didn't go unnoticed. He had almost used her nickname. She was a journalist and thus was prone to noticing these subtle things, but any average person could have detected it.

Half of her wanted him to say it. She missed his pet name for her. She used to hear it so often. But the other half was worried about what hearing him say it would do to her already confused state of mind. So she just ignored it and tried to move on.

"Thanks. I…I wasn't sure if I was going to take it. There were…a lot of things that needed to be considered…location wise…" She trailed off, wanting him to get the impression that she wasn't some stalker following him.

"Rory it's been six months. San Francisco is a big city. And I'm in Palo Alto anyways." He was calm. His voice even.

She nodded even though she knew he couldn't see her. "I know. I just wanted to let you know just in case. I didn't want it to be an issue. For either of us."

"I'm sure it will be fine. Thanks I guess...for letting me know. I'm glad you did."

"No problem. I thought it was the right thing to do."

"Hey ummm...maybe you would want to go grab coffee sometime? Just casual. To...catch up?"

"Sure. That sounds nice."

"Hey listen I have to be in a meeting in a little while but I guess I'll see you around. Bye Rory."

"Bye." It was all she could get out before the floodgate opened, the thousands and thousands of unsaid words forcing their way out of her mouth. But she closed her phone and quickly made her way home. Finally reaching her room, she lay down on her pillows and felt the tears begin a steady stream down her cheeks.

* * *

Logan lowered his cell phone from his ear, the world going in slow motion. He didn't know what to expect. He didn't know that he would react like this to just hearing her voice again. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. Six months without a single word and then _that._

Their conversation had been formal and reserved, much as he had expected. But still he longed for the days when he could hear her beautiful voice bright and chipper, laughing over the phone. He could imagine those magnificent blue eyes that lit up when she smiled up at him. He had no idea it would be this hard.

He was the guy. He wasn't supposed to get hung up on the girl. He was _Logan Huntzberger_, millionaire playboy. Commitment wasn't his thing. He could have any girl he wanted. But the thing was he didn't want any girl anymore. Just one. And she didn't want him.

In just a few short days the love of his life was going to be within minutes from where he stood. From where he worked and lived. But she wasn't his anymore. He didn't know how she spent her six months, if she'd moved on. And it killed him.

Shaking his head a few times and remembering that he had work to do, he got out of bed and headed for the office.

* * *

By the time Lorelai got home from work at the Dragonfly, the Gilmore living room was arranged for a classic movie night, only with extra ice cream and a wider selection of romantic comedies.

"You wanted me to wallow so here we go." Rory motioned to all the food displayed in front of them.

"Ror-the point of wallowing isn't just to get the act of wallowing over with, it's so you can properly move on."

"But Mom I'm fine. I _have_ moved on..." Her voice was strong and if Lorelai didn't know any better it would have been convincing.

"Hon-you were in a serious relationship with him for over two years. I know I wasn't his biggest fan, but I'm your biggest fan kid."

Rolling her eyes but smiling a little bit Rory replied "thanks Mom. Now 50 First Dates or The Notebook?"

Halfway into Rachel McAdams' portrayal of an epic love story, Rory broke down.

With a voice just above a whisper she blurted out, "I called him. Just a few days ago. To let him know about the Chronicle."

"How did that go?" Lorelai asked delicately.

"Well I left a voicemail. And then he called me back today. It took him four whole days to call me back! Four! And then when he does get around to it it's this short little phone conversation with more awkward pauses in it than I can even count! And he almost calls me Ace. But he changes it to Rory all quick and he knows that I heard the slip up. And then he says he's happy for me? He's happy? What does that mean? Does it mean that he's moved on? Because that's the kind of thing you say when you've moved on. And do I want him to move on? Or what? I should want him to move on. I should want him to be happy without the horrible girl who rejected his marriage proposal. I shouldn't be taking a job in a city so close to him and so far from everything else. I should be giving him space. I should...I should...I just...I miss him so much. I never wanted it to be over. It shouldn't be over. Oh god why didn't I just say yes. It could have been a long engagement. I could have had everything. What did I do? What did I do?" She let the tears fall freely, cascading down over her cheeks and falling onto her lap.

"Come here baby" Lorelai reached out to comfort her hysterical daughter, wishing more than anything that she could make the pain go away. "Listen that phone call was bound to be awkward. Both of you are hurting and you haven't spoken in a long time. I'm sure it's just his way of coping too."

"Why did it have to be all or nothing? I waited for him while he went to London. I waited for him while he went to Vegas and 'blew off steam' with all his friends. I forgave him for the Jess thing and for the bridesmaids. I gave up so much for him and I don't know why he wouldn't wait for me. Did he realize that I wanted to marry him but I _just_ graduated. I needed to be Rory Gilmore before I could be Logan Huntzberger's wife. I needed to make a name for myself in the journalism world without his last name and his connections. I needed to prove to myself that I could make it and I could write without anything holding me back. I wasn't supposed to meet the love of my life in college! I was supposed to have a career first! I was supposed to be a journalist. The next Christiane Amanpour. I was supposed to travel the world and have these experiences and then I was supposed to meet someone and settle down while still writing freelance. It was never in the plan. It wasn't supposed to be like this." Her voice went from wailing to whispers as she let it all out.

"Honey not everything can be in the plan. I know you like your lists but sometimes life throws your a curveball."

"It wasn't supposed to be like this. It wasn't." Rory let the tears flow silently now, the hysterics over. "He should hate me. He should hate my guts. I hate what I did to him as much as I hate what he did to me. I don't think he gets that he hurt me too. There were two people in that relationship. Oh my god he should hate me." A few minutes later, she was asleep, still on her mother's lap. Lorelai picked her up and carried her back to her room. Lorelai sighed at her daughters sleeping form, wondering how she could make it all better. But she knew the answer to that question, she couldn't. And that was the hardest thing for a mother to realize.

* * *

Logan's week dragged on slowly. It was an endless mass of meetings and presentations, each just another few hours of throwing around numbers and statistics. He loved his job. He was proud that he had done well outside of HPG (Huntzberger Publishing Group) and didn't need the help of his overly watchful father to succeed. He was more reserved this time, looking into the fine print before making a deal. He had sufficiently learned his lesson.

His office was filled with intelligent, motivated people who, like him, were desperate to prove themselves out there in Silicon Valley. With the rising popularity of internet media, their business had been flourishing. He worked long hours and drove hard bargains but he had to admit that it paid off. His partners were pleased with his work and he was gaining the respect of those around him for this work ethic, not his name.

It was everything he could have asked for. Career-wise, he was set. He found his passion and he was going to stick to it. But his social life was another story. The boy so famous for his lavish partying could now be found slaving away at a desk during the evenings more often than even going to a local bar. He returned home to an empty apartment and spent a lot of Saturday nights in, eating take-out and going over contracts.

He had offers from women. Beautiful "California girls" who made their intentions all too obvious during his visits to the local pub. He had been tempted on several occasions, but he never could go through with it. His mind kept straying and he ended up making excuses, settling their tabs, and then making a hasty exit.

Finn and Colin were worried about their best friend. He was a shell almost. Simply going through the motions instead of living in the moment like the three of them were best known for. They had dragged him off to exotic locations for LDB gatherings but his lack of interest had them more than concerned.

He hadn't told them about Rory coming to San Francisco yet. He knew what their reactions would be:

Colin: "Don't put yourself through that again, man."

Finn: "I have to agree with Colin on this one mate. Look at you. This isn't Logan Huntzberger."

And he knew that he would see their point, but fail to apply it. He couldn't imagine the day he wouldn't love Rory Gilmore.

* * *

A/N: Okay so the chapters will start getting a litttle bit longer. So they'll take me a little while to write as well! I'll do my best to update _at least_ once a week. Probably more..Well anyways I hope you enjoy it and the logan parts of this kind of suck. but eh. It'll get better! Next chapter=Rory actually going to SF

Reviewing is not necessary but getting those emails saying I have a new review is like puppies or rainbows. they make me smile :) and want to write :)


	5. Chapter 5

AN: So this is the next chapter! It took me a little while to write and hopefully they'll keep getting longer.

Disclaimer: The Gilmore Girls are not mine.

* * *

Leaving Stars Hollow for the second time in the same year was strange for Rory. It hadn't fully sunk in that she wasn't headed for college or for a temporary job on the road, but for a real writing job at a real newspaper…in a city far far away from home.

Her mom drove her to the airport, chatting happily in a way only Lorelai Victoria Gilmore could, the whole way. Once they reached their destination however, the car grew eerily quiet, neither of them wanting to say goodbye.

Lorelai broke the silence, turning to face her daughter. "You're going to be great kid. This is it. You did it. I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks mom." Rory's voice broke as she tried to keep her tears back.

"I can't believe it. My little girl is all grown up."

Rory laughed. "It had to happen sometime I guess, I'm no Tuck Everlasting," she joked.

"No you're my Winnie Foster...I'm not going to say goodbye."

"Me neither."

"Why don't we just say 'oy with the poodles already' and I'll be seeing you hon."

"Sounds good Mom. I love you."

"Love you too kid."

Before Rory knew it, Lorelai reached out and grabbed her, pulling her in for a tight hug.

After a few moments Rory had to let go. "Mom I love you and I'm going to miss you so much but if I stay here any longer I'm going to miss my flight!"

"Okay okay I guess I'll let you go...call me when you land?"

"Of course," Rory nodded, "and I'll let you know when I get to my hotel."

"Kay hon, have a safe flight."

Rory got out of the car, taking her suitcase, carry-on, and laptop with her. Getting her belongings situated at last, she turned around to find her mother driving away, yelling "oy with the poodles already!"out of the open Jeep window.

Laughing at Lorelai's unconventional farewell techniques, Rory smiled to herself, trying her best not to break down.

_Stop it. Stop it right now. You're not going to cry. You went to college and spent four years living away from home and then you spent six months on the road, completely on your own. You'll be fine. This is silly. You don't need to cry Rory._

With that, she walked away.

* * *

Boarding the plane at last, Rory made her way through the rows before finding her seat; 3F. Placing her carry on in the overhead bin, she pulled out her laptop, meaning to get some work done later.

"Ms. Gilmore?"

"Yes?" She looked up to find an overly perky flight attendant standing over her. Rory's first thought was that she looked like the Orbit commercial girl. Rory furrowed her brow, wondering how this woman knew her name and why she was addressing her in the first place.

"A first-class passenger has purchased an extra seat on this flight and has requested that I invite you to join him."

"Huh? Who?" Rory was genuinely confused now. Suddenly it dawned on her that she knew two or three people who would actually pull something like this.

"Follow me," the woman gestured to the front of the aircraft.

Leaving her possessions at her seat, Rory followed the blonde past the first class curtain.

"Finn?" She saw the always intoxicated Aussie beaming at her, glass of scotch in hand.

"Have I met you?" He said mockingly before flashing her a goofy grin. "Just kidding, I'm not that drunk yet. How's it going Reporter Girl?"

"I'm doing okay? What are you doing here?!"

"I'm headed to the Golden Coast for many reasons. Some business, some pleasure." He winked as she laughed. _Typical Finn._ She thought to herself. "Now the real question is, what are you doing here love?"

"Moving to San Francisco actually. I got a writing job at the Chronicle."

"Ah so you're done following boring politicians around the country with their boring suits and writing about their every move?"

"Hey! You make it sound like writing about the Presidential campaign is like being a stalker..." pausing for a moment she realized, "oh huh. well when you word it like _that_ I guess it is..."

Finn smirked. "So Gilmore are you going to join me, or are you going to leave poor little Finn here all by himself?"

"Are you sure? I mean this seat must have been meant for someone else..."

He just responded with another smirk as he gestured to the open seat.

"Well if you're sure...let me just go get my stuff then..."

When she returned, the flight attendants were telling everyone to sit down and prepare for takeoff. Rory quickly put her bag away and slid into the empty seat next to Finn.

"So why do you have this extra ticket Finn?"

He shrugged and then smiled. "You never know who's going to be on your flight. Could be a gorgeous redhead flying home for the holidays."

"And if there isn't one?" Rory rolled her eyes, this thinking was just so typical Finn, she didn't know why she hadn't realized sooner that there was a redhead involved.

"Well I ran into you now didn't I? And even if I didn't find a companion, extra legroom is always nice. First class is good, but nothing compares to the legroom of a private jet..."

Once again, Rory found herself rolling her eyes at the predictability of the scenario. Only Finn would buy an extra first class ticket on every flight and be okay with paying just for the 'extra legroom'.

"So how have you been Finn?"

"Oh you know...taking over the family biz and all..." The Morgans owned a chain of high-end hotels with branches all over the globe. Headquarters of course, was in Australia.

They were taking off now, the whir of the engines made any communication difficult. Once up in the air, their conversation resumed.

"So a job in San Francisco aye?"

"Yeah...the trail just wasn't for me. Too much traveling, not enough good coffee."

"And here I thought you wanted to travel the globe? Around the World in 80 Days, Reporter Girl style and all that...like Christiane Amanpour?"

"Well there's a big difference between domestic travel by bus and the occasional overseas trip to report on incredible current events. I just found that I needed a little stability and solidarity in my life..." She trailed off, realizing the conclusion Finn was probably coming to. Her words now completely contradicted what she had said six months ago. "Have you seen him?" Her voice quivered as she braced herself for the answer.

Finn nodded. "Actually I'm on my way there right now." She sighed, turning her head away to try and prevent the fall of any tears that were already threatening to escape. "Rory I have to ask. Are you taking this job to get closer to him?"

She whipped her head around, not caring about the tears anymore. "God no! It was just the only one offered. I can't work for any HPG publications for obvious reasons, and being tied to the Huntzbergers in general seems to be reason enough for any paper to avoid my resume like the plague. I wouldn't do that to him Finn. I don't think that I could do it to myself if I had another option. But I don't. I don't have a choice." By the last sentence her voice was barely audible, the hurt in her eyes increasing with every word.

"Okay, okay I'm sorry. I had to ask. Wait...how do other newspapers know about your...relation to the Huntzbergers?"

"They're reporters." Her voice deadpanned. "After the Wall Street Journal article where Mitchum listed me as one of his 'accomplishments' came out, the journalism world got curious. The society members at my graduation party must have spilled about the whole break up thing though. That much was evident when a short piece in the society papers was published saying that we broke up. And that's the benefit of the internet for you. One small article and the whole world knows. When the papers see the job and internship at the Stamford Eagle Gazette on my resume, they know who I am right away."

"You can't leave that off your resume?"

She shook her head. "It's the only legitimate writing job with a good reference that I have." Her voice was still soft, sincerity wringing off every syllable.

"I'm sorry love."

"No Finn. It's not your fault. It's my fault. It's all my fault."

"One more question love. Does he know about the move?"

"Yeah...I called him a week or so ago to let him know."

They were both silent.

"Oh god if I had known it was going to be all or nothing. If I knew that losing him would be like this. I couldn't be engaged and I can't do it alone either. What the hell is wrong with me? Is there some sign that just hangs over my head saying 'oh Rory Gilmore is happy now. Better change that!'" She didn't want to tell Finn all of this, especially knowing who he was on his way to see, but she couldn't help it. The words just kept spilling out.

She was surprised to see the stunned look on his face.

"All or nothing? Wait love what are you talking about?"

"He said it was all or nothing. I said I needed more time. I said I would do long distance. I said we could make it work again. But he didn't want that. He didn't want to move backwards. And who could blame him? I'm just that horrible girl who rejected the one person she loved more than anyone else. I just needed some time. But he walked away. Wait...you didn't know that?"

* * *

"No. He never said." _He said she didn't love him enough. He never said anything about an ultimatum. What the hell were you thinking Logan? Are you honestly that egotistical?_ Consumed in his own thoughts, Finn was quiet too, regretting it all. He regretted the dunken nights in the pub with Logan, agreeing with his friend's angry remarks about how Rory didn't love him anymore. He regretting losing her friendship for those six months because he only knew half the story. And most of all, he regretting telling Logan that it was a good thing Rory and him were over.

He couldn't believe Logan had done something so stupid. He knew Logan had every right to be hurt and upset, but an ultimatum? What was this? The girl sitting next to him was obviously as messed up as Logan was about the split. He could tell she was about to break down. That wasn't the face of someone who wasn't in love anymore. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

"Rory if I had known..."

She brushed him off, not allowing him to continue vocalizing that thought. "No no, there was no way you could have known if he didn't tell you."

"Rory..."

"It's fine. I'm fine okay?" She snapped, not sounding very fine at all. "Now I've got some work that needs to get done by the time I get off this plane."

He watched as she opened her computer and logged in. Still worried about her, he glanced over in her direction. By doing so, he was able to see the file open on her laptop screen.

Once she realized who her company was, he watched her hastily close out of the open document. But she wasn't fast enough. Despite his constant alcohol consumption (or the illusion of such), Finn's memory wasn't all that bad.

The document had been a classic Rory Gilmore pro/con list. The top of the page read "San Francisco" in plain font, giving the thing a professional vibe. Hey, that was the way Rory Gilmore did these kind of things. In the brief seconds he looked at the page, a few things stood out to him. Naturally, the first con was her mother and the distance it would be from her. The first pro was simple and effective, the Chronicle position was a working job at a major paper. He forgot the second con and well, most of rest of the list seeing as Rory had a habit of babbling on about every minute detail. He believed he saw something about hair gel quality on the "con" side, but he wasn't quite sure. But there was one con he certainly didn't forget, "Logan probably hates me." Under that, there was one more, "he doesn't want you. But you still love him."

* * *

Rory had opened her laptop meaning to begin her final article for Hugo, the editor of the online magazine she had been writing for. After logging in, she realized her pro/con list from the previous night was still open on her desktop.

In a moment of panic at two or three a.m., she had once again questioned her decision to move. Thus, the classic list.

She paused, looking over it for a couple of seconds before realizing what this list contained and who she was seated next to. Blushing, she quickly closed the window, hoping Finn hadn't seen. Glancing quickly at the Aussie out of the corner of her eye, Rory saw that luck was not with her.

Whatever he saw, Finn didn't say anything about it. They spent the next few hours getting reacquainted, asking about work and the weather and pretty much anything except a certain blonde they both knew...and loved.

"So let me get this straight...you kissed Geller?" Finn was laughing loudly enough for the passengers several rows back to give him disapproving glares.

"Shh! And hey she kissed me. No way would I ever initiate such a thing."

"Still love. Wow you and Geller? Did you get frostbite from that icy cold soul of hers?"

"Paris isn't exactly the White Witch from Narnia...ughh can we not talk about this anymore?" Finn was too busy laughing to respond. "Hey come on now. All those drunken parties and LDB events...you _must_ have kissed a guy before."

"No I've never...but Colin..." He grinned at her devilishly, sharing a secret Colin McCrae hated having retold. Which was precisely the reason he was choosing to tell her, or so she assumed.

"Oh my god when?!" She couldn't believe that _Colin_, the aspiring lawyer, was the one who kissed another male. He wasn't drunk half as much as Finn was and he was a little more controlled even when heavily intoxicated. "How did that happen?"

Finn shrugged. "He blames it on really good drag."

Now dying of laughter, Rory realized she hadn't gotten any work done yet. She had been talking to Finn nonstop for over two whole hours and hadn't even noticed.

"Shoot! I have to write my article!"

"I thought you started work on Monday?"

"I start at the Chronicle on Monday but I have one last campaign piece due before my replacement takes over."

"Wow even when you quit your job you don't get a break."

"Ain't no rest for the wicked."

"Well if we're being wicked now, you can at least have a drink with me."

"Its a song Finn. And I really have to work. Besides we're on an airplane!"

"So?" He indicated to the glass in his hand, or rather the empty glass containing the ice left over from his third beverage.

"No Finn. I really have to work!"

"One drink!"

"Say no to peer pressure!"

"You're no fun." Finn stuck his tongue out at her.

"Sorry buddy you'll have to play your drinking games all by yourself." She rolled her eyes at him before actually starting to work.

A few hours later she finished her article, still in slight disbelief that this was her final piece for the Obama campaign. For the last six months she had invested so much into the trail in futile attempts to keep herself, and her straying mind, fully occupied and thus incapable of thinking about Logan. Needless to say she had failed in that regard.

Finn was engrossed in a foreign film but Rory assumed he wasn't listening to a single word, just staring at the beautiful redhead starlet who played the main character. _Nothing new_.

Finn noticed her starking and smirked. "She's exotic."

"Finn having red hair doesn't make someone exotic. Neither does being Australian for that matter."

"Sure it does. How many blondes and brunettes are there? And then how many redheads? No offense of course love," nodding at her brown locks.

"None taken. But what's your point?"

"Redheads are the minority! Which makes them exotic. Like me. And they're feisty."

"Okay Finn I get it," she shook her head at the insane logic behind it, but still laughed.

Finn's film finished a short while later and, much to her surprise, he had been paying attention to more than just the actress's legs. Well, she had been a factor, but the storyline was not lost on him.

After resuming their conversation, the loudspeaker came on.

"Ladies and gentlemen the captain has notified us that we are nearing our final destination. If you would please return to your seats and store your belongings in preparation for our descent. We will land in approximately twenty minutes and the weather in the gorgeous city of San Francisco is looking to be partly cloudy with temperatures of about 60 degrees. Thank you for flying American Airlines. We hope you had a pleasant flight and we hope to see you again soon."

Talking rapidly but softly, Finn turned to Rory. "Listen, I just wanted to warn you about who is picking me up from the airport. Normally I would walk you to get your bags and to a cab, but I don't want you to be put in that...situation."

Rory felt the color drain from her face. "Okay," she nodded, understanding completely. She couldn't do that. Not yet.

A short while later they got off the aircraft and starting to near the baggage claim area. During this brief period of time he convinced, well asserted, that she would be staying at the Morgan hotel in San Francisco on him. No amount of protesting could change his mind so she just thanked him profusely.

After picking up their luggage they got ready to part ways.

"This is where I'm going to say goodbye to you for now love. Call me soon though yeah? Don't wait another six months for an accidental airplane run-in," he joked.

"Thanks for the seat Finn. And for everything else too."

They hugged quickly before grabbing their luggage and heading their separate ways. As she left the baggage claim area, Rory swore she was a flash of extremely familiar blonde hair through her peripheral vision. She didn't allow herself to turn and find out for sure.

* * *

"Hey mate." Finn greeted his best friend, hoping to distract Logan from the girl rapidly walking in the other direction.

"Hey..." seeing the look on Logan's face Finn winced, knowing his distraction attempt had been futile. "Was that...?"

"Yeah it was. She was on the same flight as me coming from Connecticut."

"Oh...did you guys talk at all?"

"I invited her to sit next to me."

"I see...umm how is she?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Finn..."

"Logan."

"Fine. You don't have to tell me. Get your stuff. Let's go."

Finn sighed. This was going to be a long couple of days.

"Alright mate. Let's get out of here."

* * *

A/N: Well I hope you liked it! I really wanted to have Finn in this one as sort of a window into Logan's life without all the angst. And who better to liven things up than our favorite Australian? There will be some actual Rogan interaction soon, I promise.

I had to put the Tuck Everlasting reference in there...I just had to. For those of you who caught on, props! For those that don't know, Alexis Bledel (Rory) played Winnie Foster in the movie adaptation of Tuck Everlasting (which just so happens to be an incredible book).

**I like cookies and chocolate and Gilmore Girls and reviews ;) **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls :(**

**Sorry, this chapter is kind of short, I know. The next one will be better. Promise. **

* * *

Rory unlocked her hotel room door for the first time. Despite her constant protesting, Finn had demanded that she stay in one of the Morgan hotels until she could find an apartment. Knowing she was fighting a losing battle, she caved. After calling the Chronicle and notifying them about the change (since the move was so sudden, they offered to pay for a portion of her hotel room until she could find other living arrangements), she tried to convince Finn to give her a standard hotel room. As she entered the space, she realized that her methods of persuasion hadn't been effective.

The room, no, the suite was gorgeous. Natural light flooded into the central area as it streamed in from long windows at one end of the room. There was a mini-kitchen area to her left and a door leading to what she presumed to be the bedroom on the right. The space was large, yet richly furnished, giving the room a modern, yet homey feel. It was beautiful. It was the kind of place she could have never afforded, or even attempted to stay at if she was alone.

Setting her purse and cell phone on the counter, Rory went to explore the rest of the suite. After her mini-tour was complete, she began unpacking. This room was temporary, but Rory wanted to stop living out of a suitcase as soon as she possibly could.

A half hour later she sighed, satisfied by her work. Her clothing was separated, ironed, and either hung up or folded away, a couple of books sat on her bedside table along with a few small photographs and her laptop was situated on her desk.

Six months of living on the road taught her to adjust to wherever she happened to be. Content with her work, she walked back into the main area of the suite so she could call her mother.

"Whoever just woke me up should be running for their lives right about now."

"Mom you're asleep?"

"That's generally what you get woken up from. Although I suppose it could have been a coma."

"True. But I talked to you less than two hours ago."

"Who knows? I could have slipped into a coma randomly and the ringing of my phone woke me up."

"I don't think it works like that…"

"Who are you to say that? Okay fine, fine, why did you so rudely wake me up?"

"Mom it's only 9pm in Connecticut. And I just wanted to let you know I got to my hotel and everything."

"Oh well that's good then. Hey! I have a really early day tomorrow and so I decided to get some shut eye before coordinating the wedding from hell tomorrow."

"Is it like the twins again? You know the ones that were marrying the other twins?"

"Worse. Way worse. Think My Super Sweet Sixteen on steroids. With swans. And a screaming French man who cannot take a joke."

"Oh god! Okay I'll let you go get some beauty sleep. Love you."

"Bye hon. Love you too."

Still smiling, Rory flipped through her text messages. There was one from Lane asking about the flight, one from Paris warning about a new type of bedbug something or other that was found in Indonesia but 'could be well on its way to the States by now,' one from Logan, one from…_wait. _She inhaled sharply, unsure of her vision at the moment. Scrolling back to read the name again, Rory found that she was right. There it was. Logan (1).

"Hi Rory, I heard you got into town today…anyways I was wondering if you wanted to get coffee sometime. Think of it as a 'welcome to California' thing. Let me know."

_Oh my god. _She could do this. She _needed_ to do this. Whether it was closure or a new beginning he wanted, she was prepared. Well, that's what she told herself.

"Sounds good. I'm free all weekend. I start work on Monday but I may be able to figure something out then as well."

"4-ish on Sunday okay? I'll text you the address of the place in a little bit."

"Sure. I'll see you there."

She wasn't expecting a response, but her phone beeped a short while later, proving he thought otherwise.

"So how are you liking the City?"

"It's been good so far. Although I have yet to see anything other than what I saw out of the taxi window and the interior of my hotel room."

"Rory Gilmore hasn't been sightseeing yet? You've been here for multiple hours and you haven't seen the sights? Is that possible?"

"Hey! I just got here! Plus I haven't found a good tour yet. That was my plan for tomorrow."

"Hey I know, I'll take you sightseeing." _What?! _Her mind raced. _I thought it was just coffee. Sightseeing? That sounds like an all day thing. A flirty, boyfriend/girlfriend all day thing. The kind of thing we used to do. _

"I'm sure you have a million better things to do. You really don't have to…I mean are you sure?"

"It'll be fun. I don't mind."

"Okay…sure…what time?"

"I'll pick you up at 9. Don't worry, I'm smart enough to know to bring coffee."

"Yale taught you well." She wrote it out, then realized it may hint at things she was desperately trying to avoid. Erasing the text she restarted, "good to see you putting that Ivy League education to use." There. No mention of Yale specifically. No mention of the memories there. If it was this hard to text him and avoid talking about it, she couldn't imagine what it would be like in person where the backspace button didn't exist.

"Well I suppose it had to come in handy sometime." She could imagine those beautiful lips forming a smirk as he typed those words.

"Wipe that smirk off your face Huntzberger!"

Truthfully, she hadn't smiled like this in months.

* * *

After the almost run-in at the airport, Logan knew he had to talk to her. Face to face. She was so close now, but he had never felt so far away.

Deciding that texting would be the least offending means of communication, he waited a few hours then sent her a quick message.

_Coffee. Invite her for coffee. She can't say no then. It's physically imposible for a Gilmore Girl to turn down a good cup of coffee._

"Hi Rory, I heard you got into town today…anyways I was wondering if you wanted to get coffee sometime. Think of it as a 'welcome to California' thing. Let me know."

It was twenty minutes later when he heard the beep that signaled her response. Her reply proved to be in compliance with her standard behavior; she agreed to meet him.

As he continued talking to her, their tone went from formal to friendly as they engaged in their familiar banter.

Before he knew it, he was offering to take her sight seeing the next day.

As was per usual in a Gilmore conversation, the subject of caffeine reappeared.

"I'll pick you up at 9. Don't worry, I'm smart enough to know to bring coffee." He knew better than to appear somewhere before noon without the beverage of her choice, which, thankfully, was always easy to guess.

"Good to see you putting that Ivy League education to use."He read her sarcastic response and smirked before quickly sending her a reply.

"Well I suppose it had to come in handy sometime." His trademark expression still plastered on his face, he realized that they were talking like they used to. He didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He wasn't sure if he was ready for the whole "lets just be friends" thing. He didn't know if he would ever be ready for that.

Another text from Rory came, interrupting his train of thought. "Wipe that smirk off your face Huntzberger."

He read it and laughed. She knew him too well. He sighed audibly at the realization; he missed her so damn much.

* * *

Rory had been texting Logan all night. They joked about the latest movies, the weather, music, and basically skirted around anything that could so much as connotate to the awkward situation at hand.

He was coming to pick her up in just mere minutes and Rory was still running around trying to decide what to wear. She had already picked out a blue, form-fitting sweater that she knew was both functional and flattering as the color brought out her eyes. She frantically tried to decide between a skirt and pants, evaluating the benefits and drawbacks of each wardrobe option. With just two minutes left, she decided on black leggings and tall brown boots. Casual and not trying _too_ hard, but hugging her curves in all the right places, she knew she made the right choice. Pulling out a white scarf, she decided she was ready.

As the hands of the clock hit 9, she heard a knock on her door. _Wow he's punctual_, she thought to herself. Walking over slowly, she opened the door to find Logan smiling at her, three cups of coffee in hand.

"Hey," she smiled softly, trying not to let her nerves show.

"Hey," he smirked, making her blush. _God why does he have to be so beautiful? Everything would be so much easier if he wasn't so good looking. _"Are you ready to go?"

"Almost. Let me go grab my purse. You can come in if you want."

She walked back into the bedroom to grab her bag and allowed him to enter her hotel room. She had left her purse in the other room on purpose, knowing that she would need a moment to collect her thoughts after seeing him again. She had been right. The few seconds spent walking into the other room were very much necessary.

As she walked back into the main area, she noticed him examining the photos she had set up on the kitchen counter. There were a few of her with her family, whether that was Richard and Emily, Lorelai, or Christopher, and a couple from the trail, the most memorable being the one with the Senator.

"For me?" She motioned at the coffee he was holding.

"These two are yours and this one is mine."

"_Two_ cups of coffee? I'm a lucky girl."

"I know better than to try and get you to walk around without a good caffeine dose in your system."

Taking one of the cups, she took a sip and sighed with pleasure. "Mmmmm."

"You okay there?"

"I haven't had good coffee in...well...I mean I hade Luke's coffee last week...but before that..." She shuddered. "Let's just say Iowa is not known for the quality of its 7-11 coffee."

Logan couldn't help himself and let out a few restrained chuckles.

"Hey don't mock me!"

"I just can't imagine a Rory Gilmore without constant access to decent coffee."

"Yeah it was a dark period..." her voice softened, hinting at the fact that the lack of caffeine wasn't the only catalyst for her depressed state.

"I can imagine...ready to go?"

"Yeah lets go." She smiled at him, drinking in the imagine of his familiar brown eyes, messy blonde hair, and somewhat preppy attire. She sighed a little bit when he turned around. She missed him so much. So very much.

* * *

**Reviews are wonderful and magical things that make me want to write faster. Just saying ;) **


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Hi! Okay so this might be a little confusing so I'm going to explain it here. The chapter goes from Finn's pov, to Logan's, to Rory's, and then back to Logan's. I'll try to explain a little as it goes through. It was poor planning on my part so I'm sorry!

**A HUGE thank you to everyone who has reviewed**! I love reading them and I try to reply to most of them!

mags, guest, kate19511, and has: Thank you guys so much, it really means a lot!

Lulu: Thank you so much! I'll try to get that reference in here sometime soon! And as for the Luke/Lorelai thing, don't worry, Rory has to call her mother to get her caught up on all of this right ;)

**Anyways, unless a miracle has happened, I still do not own Gilmore Girls.**

* * *

_The previous night (Finn's POV):_

"Why did she have to take a job at the _Chronicle._ I mean there are millions of newspapers. I get the whole not working for HPG thing, but San Francisco? Honestly what was she thinking? And…"

"She was thinking that it was the only job she could get at the moment." Logan had been ranting for a good twenty minutes and for the most part, Finn had played the role of agreeing best friend who simply nodded at all the right times. But when Logan started putting those false accusations out there, Finn had to interject.

"What?"

"She can't work for HPG, obviously. And apparently papers have been finding out that she worked for your father and well…other details about her relation to your family and so they won't hire her. A relationship with your family is a blessing and a curse mate. For her, it's a curse right now."

"How do you know this?"

"I told you," he shrugged, "I sat next to her on the flight over. You can do a lot of catching up in a few hours."

"What else did she say?"

"Logan…you know I can't do that."

"Why can't you?"

"Because."

"Finn why can't you tell me?"

"Logan c'mon how would you feel if I told Rory everything that you told me about her."

"But that's different. We've been friends for ages."

"Yeah but she's my friend too."

"Fine. Fine."

"Listen mate, I'm not going to go into specifics but she's torn up about this. More than torn up. The poor Shelia would almost burst into tears the minute anything related to you came up. We tried not to talk about it. Okay?"

"She's hurting that bad?"

"Did you expect anything else? There were two people in that relationship Logan."

"Yes I'm aware of that. I just…I mean _she's_ the one who said no."

"But you're the one that walked away Logan. Honestly mate what were you thinking on that one."

"Apparently I wasn't."

"Not your finest hour."

"Just…just tell me one thing. Does she hate me? Does she hate me for leaving her like that? Because I've tried to hate her. I tried really, really hard. But I couldn't do it. Despite the hell that girl put me through I still…care…about her. As upset as I am that she said no, I hate myself for walking away. But I can't hate her. I never could."

"No! She doesn't hate you. She was a little upset, but if anything she's more worried about what you think of her."

"Really?"

"I've said to much already. C'mon mate. You're _Logan Huntzberger._ Man, up, get over your ego, and try to fix things with her. You're never going to find anything like that again."

"Yeah…"

"So you're going to see her tomorrow eh?"

"Yeah…"

"Good luck mate. What ever you do, don't let your ego get the better of you. She deserves more than that. Both of you do." Finn shook his head and prayed that the two would get over their stubbornness and see what was right in front of them.

* * *

Logan stood outside her hotel room, coffee in hand, counting down. He had been up for hours, multiple scenarios running through his mind. A room full of top business executives? No problem. One blue-eyed, brown-haired twenty three year old named Rory Gilmore? He was toast.

His conversation with Finn replayed in his mind as the digits on his cell phone switched from 8:59 to 9:00. He took a deep breath, then knocked on the door.

He heard footsteps nearing the door as he braced himself for what was to come. The door opened, removing the barrier that allowed him to hide his emotion, and there she was.

Her blue sweater brought out the beautiful hue of those eyes he loved so much, her leggings clung to every gorgeous curve. Her pale cheeks were slightly flushed, hinting at her nervousness. He smiled. She was still his Ace.

"Hey." Her voice, just hearing it out loud and in person, was enough to make his heart beat a little faster.

As she walked to get her purse, his eyes scanned over the place. Noticing the pictures on the counter, he went to investigate.

The familiar faces of the elder Gilmores and Lorelai all found places within the frames. There was a shot of her with the senator who, seeing how the election was going, would probably be the new President. The last photo was of the whole gang; Colin, Steph, Finn, Rosemary, Rory, and himself. They were outside their old favorite hangout, Rich Man's Shoe. Goofy smiles were plastered on everyone's faces and knowing them, they were all slightly intoxicated, slight being a relative term, especially when it came to Finn. The Logan in the picture had his arm around Rory and neither of them were looking at the camera, they were too busy gazing at each other. They looked so in love. He almost began to wonder why she had it there, so prominent in her temporary home.

Soon they were ready to go and she had already finished the second cup of coffee. They hadn't even arrived at their destination yet.

* * *

As Logan led her out of the hotel, Rory was curious. "Where are we going first?"

"If I told you right now it would ruin the fun!"

"Logan!" She protested, knowing full well that he knew how much she didn't appreciate surprises. "Are you going to make me wear a blindfold too?"

"C'mon. What's life without a little adventure?"

She glared at him as he laughed. She could tell he was enjoying his control over their day.

"In Omnia Paratus…" She grumbled the motto under her breath.

Looking up she noticed that he was holding the car door open for her. "Logan, a limo? Seriously? I'm okay with walking…"

"You say that now but I know you. In five minutes you'll be thanking me."

"Okay," she conceded to this point, "but a normal car without a drive would have been fine."

He shrugged, "parking would have been too much of a hassle. Hey just trust me okay?"

"Fine." And she did trust him. She really did.

A few minutes later they pulled up to Pier 39. Seeing the cute little tourist-y shopping center she smiled.

"OOH! Ice cream!" Rory raced over to the beautiful Ghirardelli display as Logan followed, laughing.

After satisfying her sugar craving, for the morning at least, the pair walked around, venturing into the little shops along the way.

The pair flirted continuously, but maintained a good two inches of separation at all times. She missed the feel of his hand on the small or the reassurance of having their fingers interlaced. She wanted that back again. But at the same time, she didn't know if she would be able to handle it considering the giant elephant in the room.

Throughout the day they went from Alcatraz to Coit Tower to Fisherman's Warf to downtown. Things almost felt normal. The physical things like kissing and holding hands were absent, but they were comfortable in each other's company.

It was nearing six o'clock by the time they headed home. Neither wanted the day to end, but the rapidly setting sun had other plans. Rory was scared if he left, things would go back to the way they had been for the past six months. As the pair stood outside the door to her hotel room, the silence was overwhelming.

"Do you want to come in?" She blurted it out, hardly knowing what she was doing. She just didn't want him to leave.

"Rory…is that a good idea?"

"We can just…talk. Right?"

* * *

_Logan's POV, starts earlier in the day: _

Pulling up to Pier 39, Logan guessed that it would take less than ten minutes for his junk-food obsessed…friend?...to spot the many sugar outlets in the place. Turns out it took less than five before she was racing off to get ice cream.

No matter what happened between the two of them, certain things would never change. It was a comforting thought. Laughing, he ran to follow her.

As they trekked from shop to shop, things felt normal between them. It felt like he was experiencing San Francisco for a second time, only this time, things were fresh and exciting. It was a window into the life they could have had.

He wanted to grab her hand or put his hand on that familiar spot on the small of her back, but he couldn't. He wanted to hold her and kiss her and never let go, but they weren't together. It would take awhile for him to get used to that. Especially now that she was so close.

He was astounded at how quickly time flew. They had done most of the big San Francisco things to do and she had taken about five million photographs. Before he knew it, the sun was dangerously close to the horizon.

He didn't want the day to be over. He just got her back. He was hurting and he wanted answers, but it was his Ace who was standing next to him. The only girl who truly made him feel like himself.

As he walked her home, the tension started to build. The magic of the moment was passing rapidly and the elephant in the room threatened to make an appearance with each fleeting second.

"Do you want to come in?" Internally, he screamed "YES!" His heart ached to be with her, to forget the last six months and just let go, but his head told him otherwise.

"Rory...is that a good idea?" He decided to leave it up to her.

"We can just...talk...right?" Talking was good. Talking he could handle. They needed to talk.

"Are you sure? I don't want to interrupt your evening."

She just opened the door and rolled her eyes as if to tell him his question was ridiculous. This, of course, he already knew.

They stepped inside and as she turned around to flip on the lights, they found their faces to be extremely close, her breathing ruffling his eyelashes.

He just stood there, inhaling the smell of her shampoo. Then, all of the sudden, her lips were on his and she was in his arms. After getting over the initial shock, he ran his hand up her back and through her hair. His other arm was wrapped around her waist, putting her closer, if that was possible. As their tongues became reacquainted with each other, he made a quick mental note, yeah, they wouldn't be doing much talking tonight.

* * *

When he woke up, she was in his arms, still in sleep's grasp. Her eyes fluttered and he held his breath, not wanting her to wake up just yet. He needed time to think. Her breathing stayed even, her eyes still shut, and he let out a breath. She was so peaceful. Her long brown hair was messy and she wasn't wearing much make-up, but he thought she was beautiful. Perfect, even.

His mind was screaming at him to get out. To write a note, kiss her forehead, and leave the girl who hurt him so badly. The girl who didn't love him enough to say yes.

Logan realized how at war he was with himself these days. But love was confusing. And despite it all, he did love her. He couldn't imagine the day that he wouldn't.

So when her eyelids fluttered and her baby-blue irises gazed at him, he decided that it was enough with the games. They needed to face the music.

"Rory I can't do this. I need something to go on here. _What are we?"_

Her eyes shut for a moment, before completely widening.

"Logan..."

"No Rory. I need to know. Please." He begged.

She sucked in a breath. "Where do you want me to start? What do you need to know?"

* * *

**Hehe cliffhanger. I'm mean. I know. Just letting you know I have the next part written out, so if you want to read it, review! :) Will these two crazy kids settle their issues or will they head their separate ways? **


	8. Chapter 8

**_Sooooo I guess this is the conversation you've all been waiting for? I hope it lives up to any expectations you might have...eek. That makes me nervous. _**

_But anyways I wanted to thank you SO SO much for all your amazing reviews. I love reading each and every one of them. _

_ LoganLove: You are such a sweetheart! Thank you so much! Hopefully you can get some sleep now hon! _

_ Lulu: I'm terrible, I know. Both references will be in the next chapter! I couldn't quite fit it into this one. _

_ LUS, Guest: Thank you! _

_ other Guest?: Lets just say I can't imagine Rory with anyone other than Logan ;) _

_ Ino: Here you go! I hope I don't disappoint! _

**_I own Gilmore Girls. I'm also the Queen of Shiba. And I'm an exotic belly dancer named Melinda. (guys this means I'm kidding) _**

* * *

**_Last chapter:_**

_"Rory I can't do this. I need something to go on here. What are we?"_

_"Logan..."_

_"No Rory. I need to know. Please." _

_"Where do you want me to start? What do you need to know?"_

* * *

**_And here we go!:_**

"Why. Why would you do that? Did you not love me? Is that it? Because goddamn it Rory I loved you more than anything in the world. You were my whole world. I needed you. So why?"

"…Logan…" She whispered, her eyes full of hurt.

"Goddamn it Rory I need to know. You can't do this. It's not fair. It's not fair to me. It's not fair to you. I won't do this. You can't just come here and do _this_ and expect me to be okay with it. I loved you more than anything in the whole world. I wanted to be with you forever. You can't just come back whenever you want. You can't."

"I know…" She whispered.

"So then tell me. Why did you say no?"

"I was terrified. We had never talked about marriage before. Sure I thought about it and I hoped it would happen one day, but we never actually talked about it. We never talked about how many kids we wanted or where we would live. We never talked about anything even remotely close unless you count that conversation about factoring each other in. We said we would factor each other in but you didn't factor me in Logan. You _decided_ that if we were to get married, we would move to California. That was you. Not factoring me in. What if I got a job in New York? Or one in Dubai? Or one in Antarctica for crying out loud? I couldn't take it because you chose otherwise. That's why I was so scared. I needed a choice. I need time to make my own mistakes, my own choices."

Logan interrupted her, trying to protest. "That's not true and you know it."

"No Logan," she said, shaking her head. "If I was engaged to you I wouldn't have a choice. Not because you forced me to, but because I would be forcing myself to. Don't get me wrong I wanted to be with you more than anything. But think of it this way. Would you have gone to London for a year if we were engaged?"

Silently Logan shook his head no.

"Exactly. I'm not saying that I wouldn't make sacrifices for our relationship because you know I would. You know that I love you. But I needed to be Rory Gilmore before I could be Mrs. Huntzberger! I _just_ graduated. No, I hadn't even graduated yet actually! I needed to be me first Logan... You had time. You found something you were passionate about and yes, you made mistakes but you got there. You're there now. If I said yes I wouldn't have had that time."

"So that's it huh. You need your wide-open space. Because you can make up all the pretty excuses you want but the truth is you chose your career over me. You didn't love me enough to make the horrific sacrifice of being tied to me for the rest of your life. So what if I'm older than you. I made huge mistakes and I was just recovering from them and I _needed_ you. And I loved you. But you didn't love me enough apparently. You picked your career. I picked you and you picked your precious job." He sneered, eyes cold and unwelcoming.

"Are you honestly that thick? Did you not hear that I was willing to do long distance? Do you realize that my parents had _just_ gotten a divorce? My mom had been engaged three times Logan. And it didn't work out with any of them. My grandparents even were separated for a while! The mother of my father's child _left_ them and ran away to Paris! Don't you get that I haven't exactly had the best experiences when it comes to marriage? Don't you see that the prospect of being engaged scares me because I didn't want to change things. I was _so_ happy. I didn't want to mess anything up by making the same mistakes as the people who set the examples for me."

"But you did mess it up Rory. And we're both hurt because of it. And we're not together."

"Yeah I got that thank you very much."

"Rory I get that you haven't had the best relationships to follow. But look at my parents. They're not exactly living the Mr. and Mrs. Smith life with a white picket fence."

"Logan. My parents _just_ got a divorce. On top of that the person I thought she was supposed to end up with has a kid with someone else and don't get me wrong, I like April, but they're not engaged anymore! Yes, you might not have had the best example but don't you see that you had time to think about all of this and I didn't? I had one night. One. Engagement was the kiss of death for my mom in all her relationships."

"What? So if you had more time you would have answered differently, if you had known earlier? What is it Rory?"

"Maybe. Logan we never _once_ had a conversation about marriage. Never."

"Rory I know. I screwed that up big time. We should have talked about it. Honor and Finn already yelled at me for that one. But is the prospect of spending your life with me really that scary?" He wasn't angry anymore. Just hurt.

"God no! Logan I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I couldn't see it going any other way. But getting engaged before I graduated even? And I told you. Getting engaged just messed things up in all the relationships I've seen. I didn't want that to happen to us. It wasn't that I didn't want to be with you. I asked for time. I wasn't ready. Why couldn't you just wait for me to be ready? Because I did my fare share of waiting and you know that." By the end of her speech she was practically in hysterics. Tears were streaming down her cheeks faster and faster. He wanted nothing more than to comfort her, to wipe the tears away, but he couldn't.

"Rory I needed you. My whole world just fell apart. I was on my own. The one thing I thought I could count on was you. I shouldn't have given you the ultimatum. That was my ego talking. But part of me did it because I needed that constant in my life. There were too many things that were just so up in the air. And that ultimatum…well I just thought you might fight for me. But you let me walk away Rory. You didn't love me enough to say yes and you didn't love me enough to fight for me."

"You cannot be serious. You cannot blame me for not chasing after you. I was in shock. The center of my world just told me that either I had to do something I knew I couldn't do, or it was over. You can't blame me for not fighting for you because that ultimatum was giving up on us. That was all you."

"Well congratulations because look where that got us," he sneered.

"I can't believe that you're trying to peg this on me by saying I didn't love you enough. God Logan. Can't you just get over yourself enough to notice that you can't just go making these huge decisions all by yourself without even talking to me first? Can't you realize that if you loved me enough to want to marry me, you should have been able to love me enough to realize that I needed a little bit of time. Not an eternity, probably not even a year. But just some time Logan. But you couldn't do that."

"Don't make me the bad guy here! You did this all on your own Rory. You picked your job over me. It's as simple as that."

"What's your goal here Logan? Because right now you're just reiterating every reason why I said no. Is that what you want? For me to be more sure of my choice? Because I didn't know if I did the right thing until now. You're really clearing things up for me." She spat those last words at him.

Getting out of bed, she pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt forcefully.

"Rory what are you doing?"

"Leaving. You taught me how."

"We're not done here…" His voice was cut off by the hotel room door slamming shut as she exited the room.

"Shit. What did I just do? What did I just do?" He said to himself. _What the hell did I just do?_

* * *

Rory barely made it out of the hotel room before her sobs wracked through her whole body. She had never cried like this before. Then again, she had never loved someone like this before.

The thing was, Logan was right. She was the one who said no. She was the one who gave up. He wanted to _marry_ her for heaven's sakes. She was the one who messed everything up.

But she also knew why she did it. And as much as she hated to admit it, her reasons still stood. They weren't the best, but she still believed in them. But that didn't mean if given a second shot, she would give him the same response. As much as she was terrified of being engaged, she was more terrified of a life without Logan Huntzberger.

She wasn't scared of spending the rest of her life with Logan, in fact, it was the opposite. As much as Lorelai had been a good role model for her growing up, romantically, her mother's ventures impacted Rory in a way she didn't think possible. She knew it was silly to base her fears off of her mother's relationships, but still, engagement had always been the end of the road for Lorelai's relationships. With Mr. Medina, with Luke, and then Chris. Well, Lorelai and Chris had actually gotten married, but they kind of skipped the whole engaged thing.

The fact of the matter was that Rory was terrified of losing Logan the same way her mom lost Max, Chris, and Luke. _At the end of the day my crazy logic didn't matter anyways because I still lost him._ She thought to herself as she rode down in the elevator.

She didn't know where she was going, only that she had to get out of there.

Calling a cab, she took off.

* * *

After sitting in shock for a few moments, he ran after her. He would have used the stairs like they did in all those romantic comedies, but they _were_ on one of the top floors so the stairs would take about three times longer than waiting for the elevator. As he stood there, jamming his finger on the "down" button, he was rethinking that theory. Every moment passed was a moment closer to losing her. For good.

He waited for what felt like an eternity as the illuminated letters slowly flashed in reverse order, indicating their descent through the building. He was tapping on his leg with one impatient hand while pacing around the elevator.

_She's right. Of course she is. She waited for me. She wasn't ready and I wouldn't even wait for her. What the hell is wrong with you Huntzberger? _

His mind reeled, going over the many, many things he regretted saying in the last hour or so.

Last night had been so perfect. He just _had_ to go screw it up. Because that's what he did. He was Logan Huntzberger and the only thing he was truly good at was screwing things up.

_Not her. I won't let that happen with her._

Racing out of the hotel lobby, he was just quick enough to see her brown hair disappearing into a cab. Hopping into the nearest open taxi door he almost yelled "follow that cab." The bewildered driver obliged.

As he tried to catch his breath, he leaned his head against the poorly upholstered seat, closing his eyes.

_Ace...where are you going? _

By the time her taxi finally pulled over, they weren't even in San Francisco anymore, but in nearby Oakland; Lake Merritt to be exact. She got out and sat on one of the benches surrounding the body of water and buried her face in her hands.

He sucked a breath in before tossing the driver a Ben Franklin and getting out of the taxi.

Walking over to her ever so slowly, he called out to her, still terrified of how she would react.

"Ace?"

Her head whipped around. "Logan what the hell? Did you follow me here?" She was trying to hide the fact that she had been crying, even though she knew her efforts would be in vain.

He nodded, "I'm sorry Ace. I'm so, so sorry. It's just...I was hurting really bad. I didn't mean it. You're right. You're always right."

* * *

So there's hope for them yet! How does Rory react? Is she still mad? Or will they fix things?

I know, I'm mean.

**You know you want to write a review ;) **


	9. Chapter 9

**_Okay so this fanfic can go one of two ways. Either this will be one of the last chapters or I can make it a long story. If it's a shorter story like I orginally planned, I know it will be complete. If it's a long one, well I'm not sure how long I can keep this thing different than the other Rogan/Sohpie fics out there! Let me know what you think!_**

_**Unless I just won the lottery and ASP decided to sell, Gilmore Girls is not mine**  
_

* * *

_Previously…_

"Ace?"

"Logan what the hell? Did you follow me here?"

"I'm sorry Ace. I'm so, so sorry. It's just...I was hurting really bad. I didn't mean it. You're right. You're always right."

* * *

She looked at him with teary eyes, "I really messed us up didn't I?"

"No Ace, it was both of us."

She smiled at him slowly, blushing slightly, "wow I really missed hearing that. Ace."

"It's been a long time hasn't it?"

"So…"

"Hey that's my line," he teased.

She just rolled her eyes and repeated the word before adding a few others, "so…where does that leave us?"

He sighed, "where do you want us to be?"

"Not apart."

"Good. Same here."

"I want to be with you. I _need_ to be with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I can't imagine it any other way. That much I've known for a while. But I didn't know if I could be engaged in June."

"And now?"

"I guess I'm saying if the offer is still on the table, I would want to know."

"Of course it is." His voice was soft, sincere.

"I don't know if I'm ready yet," she admitted, "this," she gestured to their surroundings, "is all so new. But this isn't a no. It's definitely not a no."

He nodded before saying the words she had been dying to hear for the last six months, "I can wait."

* * *

"Mom?"

"My darling daughter! Wait this is a Miss Lorelai Leigh Gilmore right? Because I don't know of any other children I've had and trust me, you cannot forget childbirth. But who knows, those drugs do some crazy things."

"Wait so are you telling me you _aren't_ my long lost mother?"

"Sorry sweets."

"Man. And the lady on the infomercial said she would find her!"

"Never trust those things. Unless they're telling you that coffee is good. Because _that_ is _never_ a lie."

"Oh well lucky for you it _is_ Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, your beloved namesake who happens to completely understand the importance of coffee."

"Well how about that. Yep, I do remember having you."

"I would be insulted if you didn't."

"So anyhooooo what's up hon?"

"Ummm...so I kind of..."

"Turning into James Earl Jones with all the stuttering there hon?"

"Sorry mom, no Darth Vader action going on here. You know I'm starting to think I like the version of my life where Madeline Albright was my mother though."

"Hey power to women and all that but I'm pretty sure Madeline Albright is old enough to be your grandmother."

"Huh. Maybe. But it would be pretty cool to have the first female Secretary of State as your mother though."

"Hurtful! Anyways what's up buttercup? You were going to tell me before the whole stammering convention."

"Oh...yeah...well...loganandIgotbacktogether."

"Huh? What was that?"

"LoganandIgotbacktogether."

"About time dontcha think?"

"Mom!"

"What? It's _true!_ Hon I was so scared. You haven't been happy in...well six months. I was really worried."

"I mean I hoped it would happen...but I didn't know...not for sure..."

"Well as much as I...well let's just say I wasn't Logan's biggest fan...he makes you happy kid. There's no denying that. And that's always my number one priority. I'm not saying I don't have my reservations...because I assure you, they're still there...but you know, I'm willing to put them aside if you're truly happy."

"Thanks mom. And I am happy. I really am."

"Yeah but you tell him to watch out. Just because you're in California it doesn't mean that I can't come out there and kick his ass if he hurts my baby girl."

"I'll make sure to let him know" she laughed, imagining her mother's face as she said those words.

"You do that hon. So! Are you excited for work on Monday...oh wow wait! That's tomorrow!"

"Yeah I'm excited. A little nervous. I don't really know what to expect..."

"You've worked on papers before! You were the editor of the Daily News! You're ready!"

"I guess...but I mean this is different. This isn't some internship at a small paper or a position at a college one, this is a big time, real deal newspaper!"

"Copper boom hon."

"You know that still doesn't make sense right mom? Oh well...copper boom to you too."

"Yeah so? I don't make sense. You, my brilliant and beautiful daughter, you don't make sense. I mean you came from me and Chris! How are you so amazing?"

"Well thanks mom...speaking of working hard, how's the Dragonfly? Michel behaving himself?"

"When has that man ever behaved himself?"

"Good point. Imagine a world where Michele was _nice_ to a customer for a long period of time..."

"Whoa whoa there. Throw a moral into that story and we're entering Twilight Zone territory."

"Well I like the Twilight Zone. Especially the spaceship episode."

"Aww look at you all lovey dovey!"

"So...how are you and Luke?"

"Trying to avoid the topic huh? Oh well. You know. We're talking..."

"Now look who's avoiding the question! Vague much mom?"

"Well you know me. I can go off on tangents for hours. Apple. Sweater. Present. Monkey. Bathtub. Donald Trump..."

Rory cut her off there, "how do you come up with monkey? And then Donald Trump after 'bathtub?' Do I even want to know?"

"Dirty! But you know that Disney show with the hilarious Bowling for Soup title sequence? Well there's a monkey taking a shower. So monkey to shower to bathtub. And then who probably has a solid gold bathtub somewhere? Donald Trump!"

"I'm not even going to ask why you're watching Disney cartoons…"

"Smart move."

"Well you haven't even answered my original question!"

"You're not going to let this go are you?"

"Nope."

"Sighhh. We're talking. Trying to…figure things out. We're not technically dating…but we're not just friends either."

"Dirty! Dirtier than associating Donald Trump with showers!"

"Ugh okay I get it with the rich guy and the shower. Enough! My poor not-so-innocent eyes!"

"You brought it up, not me."

"Hey listen hon I would love to stay and chat but a particularly angry French man who happens to be employed by me is about to scare away all of our customers for the next...well for the rest of my career if I don't stop this. I'll call you later?"

a "Send Michel my love!"

"Mean! Hey maybe it will get him to stop harassing the poor woman asking about his accent..."

"Oh no! You better go deal with that ASAP! Good luck. Bring red velvet cake."

"Thanks baby. I'll call you soon."

"Bye mom."

* * *

Rory snapped her phone shut, still smiling. She already missed her mother, but the sensation felt more like the I'm-a-half-hour-away kind of missing, not the I'm-an-entire-nation-away sort. She knew it would sink in eventually though.

Padding over to the make-shift office she set up on the desk in the living room, Rory opened her laptop. Clicking on a folder on her desktop, she watched as a menu for several more files sprung open. From there she quickly clicked on the series of folders that led to a set of documents carefully tucked away. Before she could open the first one she heard a knock on her door.

Logan had gone home a couple of hours ago in order to clean up, change, and so forth with the promise of coming back within the hour. Laptop still open, she went to go answer the door.

"Well that was fast."

"Silly rabbit, speed limits are for kids. Plus, you know, I have a lot of catching up to do with someone..."

"Oh really now?" Her smile broadened as she pulled him into the room.

"Uh-huh" he smirked as he allowed himself to be dragged by his wrist into the room.

"Coffee?" By the time the question escaped her lips, she was already in the kitchen area, pouring herself a mug of steaming liquid.

"Sure, thanks Ace."

She watched him as he slowly walked around the room, drinking everything in. She saw that he paused by the kitchen counter, realizing that one of the previously empty picture frames had been filled with a photo of the two of them. They were at his graduation and both were beaming at the camera, mega-watt smiles plastered on their faces. It was the same photo he had kept in his wallet. She didn't know if it was still there, but she hoped it was.

"Here's your coffee."

"Thanks," he looked grateful as he took a long sip. "Wow Finn's hotels really _do_ have good coffee."

"My theory is that he had to get good coffee so he could deal with whatever hangover he had."

He chuckled, "yeah that does sound like Finn."

"Gotta love him."

"That you do Ace, that you do."

They settled on the couch in front of the television. After five minutes of watching oldie channel shows, her head was on his shoulder and his arm was slung over hers. She had missed the comfort of having him so close all the time. She fit into him like a jigsaw puzzle. She knew it was beyond cliche, but she hadn't had that with Jess or Dean.

Logan was different. A good different. A great different actually. The kind of relationship she had been looking for all along.

* * *

The sudden reappearance of Rory Gilmore into his life was a shock to say the least. He wanted it, he needed it, but he hadn't been expecting it. Not yet anyways. He left her hotel room on Sunday at noon so he could go home, change, and collect his thoughts. Plus, he had a very important phone call to make.

He didn't know how she was going to take it. Part of him dreaded calling her. She had been so great with dealing with his moodiness these past couple of months. She had sat with him at the bar on more than one occasion, not drinking herself, just watching him try to drown his sorrows.

He was truly happy about being back with Rory, but telling her? She had been there for him and, consequentially, she had listened to him talk about how awful Rory was for saying no. How much he couldn't believe that he asked Rory to marry him in the first place. How would she react to this?

He sighed; there was only one way to find out. Dialing the familiar number, he heard the perky female voice answer, "hello? Logan?"

* * *

A/N: Wouldn't I be awful if I ended it here? Well lucky for you, I'm feeling nice today. Hrmmm I wonder who the mystery girl is...

* * *

"Hey. Uhh so I've got some news."

"Good or bad?"

"Good. Definitely good." He wanted to establish his happiness before hand, but didn't want it to be over stated.

"Oh my gosh you and Rory got back together didn't you!" He had to hold the phone away from his ear as he heard her shriek.

"Well...yeah...but why is that the first thing you assume?"

"Because nothing else you would categorize as good news would have you terrified to tell me like this. I know you Logan." He pictured the blonde rolling her eyes.

"That's not...okay well I guess that's true."

"So you are? Back together with her that is?"

"I am..."

"Why aren't you ecstatic?"

"I am! I just didn't know how you'd take it!" He protested into the phone, unsure of where she was going with this.

"I'm a big girl Logan. Plus you know I've always liked Rory. Sure I didn't like what she did to you, but if you can move past it, so can I."

"Thanks Honor...I owe you so much. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have you..." He admitted, realizing his sister was the one person (besides Rory) that he could truly trust with anything.

"Hey us Huntzbergers got to stick together right?"

"Technically you're not a Huntzberger anymore Honor..."

"Details details...I'll always be a Huntzberger Logie. You should know that."

"Haha okay sis."

"So...have you told _them_ yet?"

Logan groaned, "no. We just got back together a couple of hours ago. Plus I'm not exactly on good terms with them and all. You know leaving the family biz and moving across the country tends to piss our parents off."

"I don't blame you. But they're going to find out somehow."

"Then they'll find out when they find out."

"Logan..." he sensed the warning tone of her voice so he cut her off before she could finish.

"Honor I just got her back. They can't screw this up. I won't let them."

She sighed, "yeah, yeah okay fine you win."

"Thanks Honor."

"Alright little brother I've got to go, but you tell Rory that she and I are going on a shopping trip the next time you're on the East Coast. And that I said welcome back."

"Will do. I'll see you Honor."

He hung up the phone and exhaled. That was easier than he thought it was going to be. He could always count on Honor to defy expectations, most of the time for the better.

So far, minus the fight with Rory, his day had been pretty amazing.

* * *

A/N: Ew. Lame way to end the chapter, I know. But I wanted to update and I couldn't think of anything else I wanted to add.

**Due to some unintentional similarities I will be taking pieces of this story in a different direction. I apologize if any other piece of writing is similar to this one and feel free to PM me and let me know. I DO NOT wish to steal anything or unintentionally write material similar to any other Rogan fic and I apologize profoundly if I do so. I assure you that most of these chapters were written out as I watched the ending of the series, but just in case, please please feel free to let me know. I have altered some sections of chapter 8 and 9.**


	10. Chapter 10

AN:This is just kind of a fluffy chapter to show Rory getting adjusted into her new job, etc. Sorry, not THAT much Rogan. There will be more soon :)

**I don't own Gilmore Girls, just this story. **

* * *

When she woke up Monday morning, Logan's arm was slung over her slender waist. His eyes were still shut, so she took a moment to appreciate his messy blonde hair and the steady breathing that she knew matched hers. Six months without the process of waking up next to him was way too long in her book.

She got up slowly, trying not to disturb his slumber. She knew he had been working nonstop since arriving in California, the bags under his eyes had given him away. She too was sporting similar features. But today was her first day at the Chronicle and she _had_ to make a good first impression.

After a good fifteen minutes of sifting through her collection of potential first-day outfits, she realized she needed professional help. Quietly grabbing her cell phone, she called in the big guns.

"I don't know what to wear."

"What are your options?" Lorelai had been expecting such a phone call.

"I have my black pants, all my skirts, a couple of blazers, the new white shirt, the old white shirt, and the colorful ones you bought for me."

"Hrm. And I'm assuming you don't want to go the Elle Woods route?"

"Sorry, no hot pink pantsuits."

"Well then I would go with the black pants, the sheer light blue shirt tucked in with your white cami underneath, and your new black blazer. Grab a pair of comfy low heels too."

"Perfect! Why am I not blessed with this talent? Thanks mom."

"Sure thing sweets."

By the time Logan got up, Rory was dressed and almost ready to take off. She was writing him a note when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist.

"Hey. You look great. Good morning." He kissed her hair.

"Hi," she looked up at him and grinned, "I was just about to head to work. Coffee is in the pot if you want some."

"Sneaking out before I woke up? Gosh Rory don't I mean anything to you?" His voice had that tone that indicated his gentle teasing.

Playing along, Rory continued, "Eh, you're just okay. Now Peter…he's something."

"Who is this Peter and can I kick his ass?"

"Sure, but you're going to miss out on the best Chinese food I've ever had." She pointed to the take-out menu pinned on the fridge. Sure enough, it was called "Pete's Chinese Food."

"Shoot I'd better learn how to cook then…wait you've only been here a few days and you already figured out who has the best take out? Impressive…even for a Gilmore…"

"Wellll Finn may have let me know his opinion on the various eateries in this area…"

"Ahh that makes a little more sense."

They continued their discussion for a few more minutes before it became truly apparent that she would be late for work if this kept up. Both left the room feeling considerably happier than they had in a long while.

* * *

By the time she got to the office, Rory's nerves were all over the place. Pushing open the heavy glass doors to the building, she had to physically remind herself to inhale and exhale.

"May I help you?" The receptionist was a blonde girl who couldn't have been any older than Rory herself. The poor girl looked completely bored out of her mind and it wasn't even 8 a.m. yet.

"Hi I'm Lorelai Gilmore. I begin working today?"

"Oh okay here you are. Andrew Gold will see you in his office now. It's 5A. Just take the elevators to the fifth floor and it should be the first door on your left."

"Thank you." Rory walked briskly to the elevators down the hall, trying to calm herself so that any shaking wouldn't be noticeable.

After reaching the fifth floor, she inhaled a couple of times before knocking on the door labeled 5A.

"Come in." A deep male voice responded.

She shyly opened the wooden door and stepped into the room. The office wasn't large, but it was a decent size. A big wooden desk sat at one end, a comfortable looking sofa on the other. Various bookshelves filled the remaining space, everything from Shakespeare to Orwell among the collection. There was a filing cabinet next to the desk and both were overflowing with papers. A Mac computer was set up on the desk and behind it was a 40-some year old man with brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Lorelai Gilmore I presume?" The man extended his right hand.

"Yes, everyone calls me Rory though."

"Okay Rory. My name is Andrew Caulfield and I'm the features editor for the Chronicle. I will be in charge of delegating assignments for the beat and all assignments will be turned in to me as well. I'll fill you in on more later, but for now, welcome aboard!"

"Thank you sir, I really appreciate you giving me this opportunity."

"You've got talent Miss Gilmore. There's no denying that. I read a couple of your pieces for the Daily News."

"Oh, well, thank you."

"I'm not going to lie to you and say this job is a cakewalk. Be prepared for some long hours."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He stood up and offered her his right hand again. She shook it as he smiled. With that, she headed for the door.

"Oh and Miss Gilmore?" Rory turned back around.

"Yes?"

"It's nothing much to be concerned about but the paper is making some minor changes as it switches ownership and so we're just making sure the staff is aware. Your job will not be at jeopardy of course." He sneered a little at the phrase "minor changes," almost as if he knew that said changes would be anything but minor.

"Yessir." Sensing his annoyance at the situation, she decided not to inquire further.

"I'll have my assistant Rebecca show you to your desk."

"Thank you Mr. Caulfield."

She followed the older brunette woman she presumed to be the assistant Rebecca out of the room.

"This is your cubicle Miss Gilmore. The copy and fax machines are down the hall to the left and the break room is down the same hallway to the right. If you're going to put your lunch in the fridge make sure you clearly label it with your name because some of the males on this floor will eat anything and everything left in there." She rolled her eyes slightly and Rory laughed.

"Thanks for the heads up! Oh and feel free to call me Rory."

"Okay well that's about it...Mr. Caulfield will call you in to tell you about your assignment in a little while. For now you can just get yourself situated."

"Thanks Rebecca."

"Of course Rory. Feel free to let me know if you need anything else." Rebecca smiled warmly before leaving.

Rory sat down at the cubicle and re-arranged the desk to her liking. Filling the pencil holder with a couple of Hello Kitty pens, she decided it was as good as it was going to get for the time being. Just as she was setting up her laptop, a female voice addressed her.

"So you're the new girl eh?"

"Just call me Zooey Deschanel." Rory looked up to see a pretty girl with auburn hair and brown eyes smiling at her.

"I'm Mackenzie, another staff writer for this paper."

"Rory, Rory Gilmore."

"Wait...are you related to Lorelai Leigh Gilmore or Hartford, Connecticut? And do you know a Stephanie Vanderbilt?"

"Well I suppose I would be related considering that's my full name. And yes, I went to Yale with Steph."

"Oh cool! Oh gosh I just realized how creepy that sounded. Steph is my first cousin and I've heard her talk about a Rory Gilmore before. And I used to write for a small paper in Hartford during the summer. I promise I'm not a stalker!"

"You're related to Steph? She mentioned me?"

"Yeah she mentioned you a few times. Especially when my paper printed that article about..." Rory sucked in her breath, waiting for Logan to come up. "Richard and Emily Gilmore's donation to Yale to be used for the construction of your building." Rory exhaled a little bit.

"Don't remind me of that...and I haven't talked to Steph in a little while...I should call her."

"Wow you don't like being attached to that hoity-toity society bs do you?"

"Nope."

"Whew. I thought I was going to have to deal with another society princess for a moment there."

"Nah the only time I'll throw a tantrum is if there isn't enough coffee."

"A fellow addict?!"

"It's a lifestyle Mackenzie. The only way to go. Practically a religion."

"Amen sister. Steph wasn't exaggerating. You really are nice. Anyways, welcome to the Chronicle!"

"Thanks! Do you like it here?"

Mackenzie nodded enthusiastically, "it's been great. The people are pretty nice and as long as you meet your deadlines Andrew stays pretty calm. It's tough at times and hours suck when theres a rush, but it's not a bad job. Oh did Rebecca get a chance to warn you about putting food in the fridge?"

"Yeah she did. Is it really that bad?"

"You have no idea."

"Okay I'll take your word for it."

The two girls chatted for awhile longer as Mackenzie filled Rory in on the workings of the paper. About an hour later, Rebecca returned to let Rory know that Mr. Caulfield had her assignment and was ready for her in his office. When she returned the girls made plans for lunch later in the day.

* * *

"So. Tell me about Rory Gilmore."

Rory and Mackenzie were out for lunch, grabbing sandwiches at a small cafe across the street.

"What do you want to know?"

"Why journalism? Why not join the world of the DAR and black Am Exes?"

"My mom." She said simply. "She had me at a young age and she separated me from all of that. She worked hard and started her own business and so I wanted to work hard and make a name for myself too. I didn't grow up with much. I didn't really get to know my grandparents until I was 16 or so. I guess I've always wanted to go into journalism."

"Oh wow. Are you and your mom close?"

"Yeah. She's my best friend."

"Was it hard to leave the East Coast after all that? I'm assuming that's where you're from considering the whole being a Gilmore thing."

"Sort of. It still hasn't really sunk in I guess. I spent the last six months on the campaign trail following Senator Obama so I'm still adjusting from not living out of a suitcase."

"Oh god! Iowa is _not_ known for its coffee! How did you survive?"

"That's what I said! And I have no idea how I did it."

"Well I can assure you that San Francisco is a fantastic place for your caffeine needs. So what made you leave the trail, besides the lack of suitable beverages?"

"The whole institution of living out of a suitcase and traveling on a dirty tour bus for months at a time kind of got old. When I got offered the position here, there really wasn't anything holding me back. So here I am." She shrugged.

"Jeez I can't even imagine."

"Enough about me, what about Mackenzie? Anything I should know about? Perhaps a criminal record?"

"Don't worry. I haven't killed anyone. This week..." Mackenzie smirked, obviously kidding.

"Oh well then that's good I suppose. How long have you been working for the Chronicle?"

"About two years now. I started right out of college as a poor little intern. Fetching coffee, making copies, the whole stereotypical ordeal. I guess I liked it though because I've been here ever since."

"Well that's good then! How are the editors?"

"Andrew Caulfield is pretty nice. He only gets crazy when deadlines are approaching. If we're behind and the EIC is on his back about something..." Mackenzie shook her head a little, "well then he's a bit of a force to be reckoned with. Do you have any experience with overbearing and slightly insane editors?"

"Oh yes, my roommate Paris? Yeah let's just say Hitler could have picked up a few tips from her brief stint as Editor of the Daily News."

"Ouch. Sounds painful. And you had to live with her?"

Rory nodded, "she wasn't all that bad once you got to know her. Although putting her in a position of power was not a good idea."

"You said she was editor for a short amount of time? What happened?"

"Well there was a...coup...of sorts and she was ousted. And I replaced her. Things got a little messy and she kicked me out...and well, it wasn't good."

"She sounds like a dream." Mackenzie rolled her eyes sarcastically as Rory laughed.

"So the EIC. Mr...Gold is it? What's he like?"

"Mr. Gold is a little more intense. Kind of the reason why Andrew goes crazy around deadlines. I mean he's no Mitchum Huntzberger, but still."

"You know Mitchum?" Rory didn't even attempt to hide her surprise.

"Only by reputation."

"Oh. Okay. Yeah I heard he's quite the formidable man."

"Yeah..." Mackenzie was studying Rory with a look of slight apprehension, but soon seemed to shrug it off. "Alright we should get going. How's your article coming along? Have you started yet?"

Rory nodded. "I've got the background part of it done and I have an interview set up for later today. I'll have it in by tonight."

Mackenzie had a black expression on her face. "You know deadline isn't until Friday right?"

"Yeah but I like to get things over with."

"Wow. No wonder you got hired as a staff writer right off the batt."

After cleaning up their table, the girls made their way back to work.

* * *

At around 7 p.m. Rory left the office. She had finished her article and was going to take it home for final edits.

She dialed a familiar number on her cell, "Logan?"

"Hey Ace. How was your first day?"

"Pretty great actually. The people are nice. I met Steph's cousin Mackenzie."

"Oh really? I didn't know she was a journalist?"

"You know her?"

"Sure. She went to Yale. Graduated...maybe a few years before I started? Steph mentioned her a couple times. I never actually got to meet her though."

"She's pretty cool actually."

"I'm glad. Listen I'm still at work but did you want to meet up later? Maybe grab something to eat?"

"Sure sounds good. Do you want me to meet you somewhere?"

"Maybe you could come to my house? It's a little far from where you are...I can send a car?"

"Don't be silly. Just text me the address and I'll meet you there."

"Okay I should be out of here within the next 20 minutes. If I'm not there when you get there, there is a spare key hidden under the foot of the dog statue on the porch. See you later Ace."

"Seriously? You have a dog statue? Bye Logan."

* * *

When Logan pulled up to his house he found Rory just standing on his porch, staring at the statue.

"Having a staring contest there Ace? Because I'm pretty sure the stone thing is going to win."

"What is with you and weird artsy stuff? I mean Henry, this dog?" She gestured at the statue.

"Oh come on you know you love it. And Henry is officially insulted."

"You still have him?" She perked up a little.

"Yeah I do, did you miss him?"

"Actually I did. As much as he freaked me out, Henry kind of grew on me."

"Ha!"

She responded by sticking her tongue out at him. He was still laughing at her as he moved to unlock the door.

"Wow! It's..."

"Small?" He offered.

"No!" She responded quickly. "No, it's so...you. It's perfect."

"Aw shucks. Thanks Ace."

"Could your ego get any larger Huntzberger?"

"Probably not."

She just glared at him a little before returning to her examination of his house.

"So you like it?"

"Yeah I really do."

"Move in with me then?"

"What?"

"You heard me. Move in with me. C'mon it would be fun. Don't you think it would be fun?" His teasing voice reappeared.

"Yeah but..."

"It's not like we haven't done it before Ace."

"Yeah I know...but..."

"But what? You can't exactly live in a hotel forever."

"Yeah I know..."

"So?"

"Okay." She looked up at him and smiled.

He beamed back at her, not even bothering to hide his elation.

"HENRY!" She noticed the suit of armor in the corner and ran over to it.

"Enthusiastic much Ace?" His grin was still plastered across his handsome face.

Things were going back to normal. They just might be okay after all. Or so they hoped.

* * *

AN: Okay guys so I'm really really busy with school so updates won't be _as frequent._ I'll try to post a new chapter once a week.

Anyways, review? I love reading them and I'll try to respond! :)


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: So I'm going to admit this upfront, I don't actually know much of how a newspaper works. All I know comes from the one year I spent on the high school journalism staff or from movies. So for the sake of this story, just pretend these schedules and time frames work.**

**Once again, thank you so much to everyone that reviews! I love reading them! **

**Also, I'm starting a new AU Rogan story and it would be cool if you guys could check that out too!**

**Anyways, here we go!**

**Disclaimer: Unless ASP somehow became my mother and she decided to give me ownership of Gilmore Girls, I don't own it. Just mackenzie and any other figments of my imagination that have made their way into this chapter. Enjoy! **

* * *

"So I was thinking…"

"Yes Ace?"

Rory and Logan were eating dinner at his, no their, house.

"Well I was at lunch with Mackenzie today and your father came up in the conversation…"

"I knew you were only dating me to get to him." His eyes widened as he feigned horror.

"Shush you! Let me finish!"

"Alright Ace, you and Mackenzie were talking about my father."

She glared at him before resuming her story, "_Anyways_, I was asking how the editors were at the Chronicle and Mackenzie was saying how Mr. Gold was 'no Mitchum Huntzberger.' See? We weren't talking _about_ your father, he just happened to come up."

"Well that's good your editor isn't like dad?" He offered.

"Yeah I guess. But back to the main point, after she mentioned Mitchum I realized I don't know what to do at work in terms of our relationship."

"What do you mean?"

"You're Logan Huntzberger!" She gestured wildly at him.

"And you're Lorelai Gilmore! What else is new?"

"I just…I want to make a name for myself you know? Prove to them that I didn't get the job because my boyfriend's father just so happens to be one of the biggest guys in the newspaper business."

"As a guy whose future has been pre-determined since before I was born, I understand the whole wanting to make a name for yourself thing. But Huntzberger Publishing Group doesn't own the Chronicle. And I don't work for HPG anyways."

"Oh gosh I didn't even think of that when I brought this conversation up. I mean I know you get it…it's part of the reason we're in San Francisco to begin with…but I mean you're doing great on your own out here in Silicon Valley. I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks Ace. No need to apologize, I'm just saying I get it."

"I just…I don't know what to say at work, you know? It's inevitable that something will come up sometime, but I haven't really thought about how I wanted to…approach this."

"Well what do you want to do?"

"I don't know…I guess eventually I'll have to say I'm in a relationship at work. I don't necessarily have to tell them who…I guess I'll figure it out how to deal with it when it comes up."

"What? No pro/con list?"

"Oh don't you worry your pretty little head, there_ will_ be a pro/con list later."

He smirked, "I figured as much."

"So, enough about me and my insignificant issues. I've been meaning to ask you, would you ever consider going back to work at HPG?"

Logan sighed. He had been thinking a lot about this particular subject matter in the last few months. "I can't say for sure, but it seems pretty inevitable at this point. My whole life has been in preparation for it and I will never be like my father, but in a way I do like the business. I want to work on my own for awhile though. I need to make my name into something other than Mitchum Huntzberger's son who got the job based on lineage. A modern form of nepotism I suppose."

"You will be great Logan. You are already doing great. The world will see it too." She nodded at him, every vowel indicating her sincerity.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

The week passed quickly and by Thursday all of Rory's belongings were already at, or en route to, the little house in Palo Alto.

Rory had finished her first article long before her Friday deadline, it was just a small fluffy piece on a local elementary school who painted a mural promoting cooperation in the community. It wouldn't be published in the actual paper, just on the website version. Nothing too exciting, that was for sure, but it was only her first piece.

The office staff seemed nice; a little chatty for her taste, but nice nonetheless. The women on her floor loved to gossip round the clock so she made a mental note to watch her mouth.

The guys were okay too. The food thing had proven to definitely be anything but a myth. Needless to say, Rory made smart investments in caution tape and post-its. By Friday no one touched her lunch.

"Rory?"

"Hey Paul!" Paul was a sports section writer who also happened to be a UC Berkeley graduate. He was pretty proud of his alma mater considering the "small" collection of Cal paraphernalia decorating his desk. He seemed nice; they had only talked a few times so she hadn't made a concrete decision about his character. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you maybe wanted to get a drink sometime?"

"Oh gosh Paul I'm sorry I have a boyfriend…"

Paul's face flushed and after making a couple hurried excuses, Paul sped away.

"Poor guy," Rory muttered.

Mackenzie slid up next to her, "okay everyone has been dying to go out with Paul since the day he started working here. Nice, gorgeous, and shy? What else does a girl want right? Well you come in here and after a couple of days, you get him to ask you out, but you turn him down!"

Rory laughed a little bit before shrugging and replying, "I have a boyfriend."

"Must be some boyfriend…"

"You could say that," Rory laughed again…_if only Mackenzie knew._

"So are you going to give me details or am _I_ going to have to take you out for drinks and get you to spill?"

"Uhm his name is…" thinking fast she came up with a suitable nickname for Logan, "Mac. We've been dating for awhile now." She smirked, signaling she wouldn't give out any more info for the time being. She also knew Logan would appreciate this one. She was, ultimately, caving in and calling him the name he asked her to the first time they had an actual conversation, Master and Commander. Mac.

"So…ugh. Well I'll get more out of you later Gilmore!"

_Crap._ Rory liked Mackenzie, but she didn't know if she could completely trust her yet. Being Steph's cousin she was sure to understand the complications a last name like Huntzberger or Vanderbilt could cause, but Rory wasn't sure how closely associated Mackenzie was with all of that. After all, Mackenzie was working as a staff writer at a newspaper far, far away from that little circle where names like Gilmore or Hayden truly mattered. This situation was essentially everything Rory had feared, although, she supposed it could be worse.

* * *

When Logan came home that evening he found dinner already on the table.

"Hey Ace, what's all this?" He walked over and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head as she stood at the kitchen counter washing dishes.

"Hey Mac." She turned her head up to kiss him quickly.

"What did you just call me? Mac?"

"I figured out how to deal with the whole work thing. My boyfriend's name is Mac. Master and Commander."

"Clever Ace. Wait does this mean you're actually going to call me that?"

She rolled her eyes, "I guess so. Your ego _so_ does not need this though."

"My ego is definitely enjoying this."

"Thought so."

"So Ace, I'll ask again, what's all this?" He gestured to the dining room table which had what appeared to be Italian food set up.

"I got off work early so I thought I'd surprise you."

"Wait did you actually cook?"

She shook her head, "and risk burning down the kitchen? Nope. But I _did_ make salad and mashed potatoes."

"Wow Ace I'm impressed."

"That was the plan!"

They sat down to eat, engaging in the playful teasing that made them...them.

"So how was work?"

"Oh you know, same old same old. Got made fun of by Mackenzie because a sports writer named Paul asked me out."

"Really now?" Logan took a sip of his drink, keeping his voice even.

"Yeah. Apparently everyone's been _dying_ to go out with him. I got a mini lecture for turning him down."

"Aw Ace poor Paul."

"Yeah you see I have this boyfriend and I don't think he would be very happy if I was going on random dates ya know?"

"Mmmm. Maybe that was wise." She rolled her eyes at him. "So is this how the nickname came to be?"

"Yeah. I needed to think of something quick. She wanted details."

"And you told her…?"

"That I have a boyfriend named Mac. And that we've been dating for awhile."

"And that's more foolproof than telling her the real story? I mean she _is_ Steph's cousin."

"I panicked! I just met her this week! I don't really know what would happen…you know?"

"Yeah I get it Ace. I just think it might be good if you had someone you could totally trust at the office. Plus you said she used to work for a paper in Hartford? And I don't know how much Steph told her about us…so she might already know."

"Yeah I guess. I'll tell her soon. If there's one person I'm going to trust at work, it would be her."

* * *

After four weeks in their home, Rory and Logan settled into a familiar routine. They would get up at around six in the morning, Rory would take a shower and Logan would make the coffee before going to the gym. By the time Rory was on her third or fourth cup, Logan would come home and get ready for work. The two would eat a quick breakfast together before heading to work.

Some days they would meet up for lunch, other times they would settle for a phone call or two. They would get home at different times, depending on workload and meetings, although they both tried to make it back before eight.

For some couples, the whole routine thing became too comfortable, the spark disappearing. Rory and Logan didn't have that issue. The daily routine felt...right. Like it was what they should have been doing all along. It never got boring or tiresome, it felt like they were making it on their own. To two people trying to figure themselves out, that was exactly what they needed.

* * *

After a little over a month working for _The Chronicle_, Rory found herself becoming closer to a couple of her co-workers, Mackenzie being one of them. Whether they were just working at the office or grabbing lunch at a nearby restaurant, Rory and Kenzie seemed to always have a great time.

It was getting increasingly harder to keep the Logan secret, considering Kenzie told Rory all about the details in her own relationship. So, after a couple pro/con lists and a couple more talks with Logan, Rory decided to tell her.

"Hey Kenz-do you want to grab lunch today?"

"Yeah sure I've been meaning to get out of the office."

"Great! Let me just get my coat."

The girls made their way to a deli that had quickly become a favorite of theirs.

"So what's up? You've got that little nervous eye twitch thing that generally means you're either guilty of something or you're hiding something. Sometimes both."

"Oh err. Okay. You're a Vanderbilt right?"

"Yeah...and you're a Gilmore."

"Okay well when I came out here I decided that it was my chance to make a name for myself. I didn't want a name like Gilmore or Hayden to be a reason I got, or didn't get, a job. I needed to be Rory."

"Yeah I get that. But I can tell that's not what you want to say Rory."

"Okay well there's another name I'm associated with and this one actually means something in the place we work."

"Yes?"

"My boyfriend? Mac? Yeah I used Mac as a nickname because his real name is…Logan."

"Okay…? Still not seeing your point…"

"Well let's just say I'm…hiding…his identity because I don't want people to think I got the job because of him."

"You're still with Logan Huntzberger?"

"You knew?"

"Uh-huh. I'm not stupid Rory. I grew up in Hartford. Steph is my cousin."

"Oh. Well…" She let out a little sigh of relief.

"You're not mad?"

"No I mean I get it. If I was dating someone with a last name like Huntzberger I wouldn't want anyone to know either. It's hard enough to be a Vanderbilt. I couldn't imagine what being associated with a Huntzberger would do to the office gossip around this place."

"Exactly. I just want people to think I'm a good writer first. I don't want to lie. And Logan really did ask me to call him Master and Commander the first time we met. Hence the whole Mac thing."

"Oh gosh. Yeah don't worry about it Rory. Especially with HPG buying _The Chronicle_ and all that."

"Wait WHAT?"

"You didn't know? HPG purchased _The Chronicle_ a couple of months ago. Didn't Andrew tell you on your first day?"

"He told me the paper was switching owners and to expect some minor changes, but he didn't say _anything_ about **who** bought it. Oh god. Oh god."

"Logan didn't tell you?"

"He doesn't work for HPG anymore. He wouldn't have known. Right?"

"If he doesn't work for HPG there's no way he could have. I mean _no one_ knew about the purchase. I only know because one of the secretaries overheard Mr. Gold and being the chatty Cathy she is, she told a few of the staff."

"Is this something I should be worried about? I mean I'm not exactly on the best terms with Mitchum Huntzberger."

"What do you mean?"

"Well he doesn't necessarily like me to begin with. When Logan and I first started dating he and Shira went to town talking about how I wasn't going to be the proper trophy girl or whatnot. Then I guess it didn't help things when he told me I 'didn't have it' when I worked for him at the Stamford Eagle Gazette. Oh and to make matters worse, I rejected his son's marriage proposal last June."

Mackenzie whistled. "Wow okay yeah I get it, you and Mitchum aren't necessarily campfire buddies."

"Not in the least."

Not in the least.

* * *

**Reviews make me write faster. *Hint hint**


	12. Chapter 12

Guest: Thank you so much! I'm doing my best to keep this as in character and realistic as possible so it's great to hear that you think so! I appreciate it!

**Once again, thank you so much for all the reviews! I love reading them! Anyways I'm sure you don't want to read this, so on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Gilmore Girls…Christmas is coming up though so who knows? Maybe miracles are possible.**

**Previously:** Mackenzie tells Rory that HPG is buying The Chronicle. As far as Rory knows, Logan has no idea. Rory tells Mackenzie everything that has happened between her and Mitchum and it is agreed that she and the elder Huntzberger are not on good terms.

Rory rushed through the rest of her day, her discussion with Kenzie still weighing heavily on her mind.

"Miss Gilmore?"

"Yes?"

"Mr. Caulfield would like to see you in his office as soon as possible, he says not to worry though, it's nothing too serious."

"Okay thanks Rebecca."

Rory quickly drained the rest of her coffee, knowing she would need that extra ounce of caffeine in her system, before heading in to see her editor. She knocked lightly on the door before heading in.

"Mr. Caulfield? You wanted to see me sir?"

"Yes. I have a quick matter I needed to discuss with you before you leave today."

"Okay?"

"As I told you during our first meeting, this paper is undergoing some…changes."

"Yes," she nodded, remembering her conversation with Kenzie and not quite understanding how this pertained to her…unless…unless he knew.

"Well this information was confidential until extremely recently, but the buyer I mentioned previously is Huntzberger Publishing Group. This will be made public tomorrow so I have no issue sharing it with you now." Examining the confused look on her face he continued, "you're probably wondering what this has to do with you, am I correct?"

She hesitated, responding slowly and carefully as she was unsure of how much, or what he actually knew, "yes I'm having a little trouble deciphering what this buyout has to do with me and my job…"

Evaluating her panic, Mr. Caulfield hastily added, "Oh don't worry, your job isn't at risk."

"Then why?...?"

"It says here on your resume that you served as an intern for Mitchum Huntzberger. I also found a newspaper article in the Wall Street Journal, during your interview process, of course, in which Mr. Huntzberger lists you as an accomplishment personally. I understand also that your internship ended…rather quickly, yet this letter of recommendation from the Stamford Eagle Gazette editor suggests that your work was beyond satisfactory. What I mean to say is that I am bringing this to you in case you have an issue with our new owners. I was unable to mention such information during your interview and hiring process for legal reasons, but of course, it is my hope that you continue writing for our paper. However, I understand if this situation puts you in a…difficult place."

She breathed a sigh of relief, the man did his homework, that was for sure. She also thanked her lucky stars that the Hartford society paper did _not_ have an online version. This man sure was good with Google. "I can assure you, Mr. Caulfield, that my profession will not suffer from any issues with Mr. Huntzberger during my employment at the Stamford Eagle Gazette."

"Very good. Thank you Miss Gilmore, that is all. Enjoy your evening"

She nodded, gave him a small smile, and left the room.

Her face was still a little pale as she briskly walked back to her desk to collect her things.

"What was that all about?" Mackenzie piped up, appearing beside her.

"Jeez how do you manage to always appear right outside the door every time I'm in a meeting?"

"I'm psychic. Or maybe I'm just a stalker. Hey maybe I'm both!" Rory rolled her eyes, "okay fine Rebecca told me when I asked where you were."

"And that's not creepy at all…"

"Hey! I needed your help with an article! You did the Sherman interview right?" Rory nodded. "Yeah I have to write a piece on the foundation funded by the Shermans and I was wondering what they said in your interview so I could use it as background"

"Oh. Well that actually makes sense. I'll get you the hard copy tomorrow."

"Thanks. So what was that all about?" Mackenzie didn't let things distract her apparently.

Rory sighed, knowing her friend wouldn't let this go. "It was about the buy out. You were right; HPG is the buyer. He wanted to know if I was okay with the new owner considering the whole Stamford Gazette thing."

"He knew about that?"

"He's good at what he does. Kind of surprising for someone who's supposed to be our _boss_ don't you think?" She smiled sarcastically.

"And you said?"

"That any incident I may have had with Mitchum Huntzberger in the part wouldn't affect my profession."

Just then Rory's phone rang, an unfamiliar number flashing on the screen.

"Hello?"

"Hey Ace."

"Hey Mac. What number are you calling me from?" She grinned and Mackenzie walked away, smiling and shaking her head all the while.

"Office phone. My cell is dead."

"Oh okay. So what's up?"

"I was just headed out of the office and I wanted to know if you wanted to grab dinner."

"Yeah sounds good. Should I meet you at home?"

"I can swing by your office and pick you up."

"But I'm dressed for work! And I'm far away from where you are! Traffic!"

"Ace! It's fine! I'll be there in forty five minutes."

"Okay…"

"Alright I'll text you when I'm at your building."

"Wait I thought your cell was out of batteries?"

"Phone charger in the car Ace."

"Oh. Yeah. Well all right Lo—Mac. I'll see you then."

"See you, love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

Logan picked her up from the office in his Porsche (he had it shipped over from the East Coast) and the couple decided on going to a smaller Italian restaurant in the City.

"This is nice."

"I'm glad you think so Ace."

"What's the occasion?"

"Where's it written I need an occasion. It's just dinner Ace. You're making me feel cheap!"

"Well your ego could use it." She smirked. Both of them had been extremely busy over the last few weeks and dinners out just didn't happen most nights. She wasn't complaining of course, she enjoyed having him all to herself in their little house.

"Mean! My ego is just fine thank you very much."

"She rolled her eyes, "so how was your day?"

"Same old, same old...okay Ace, what's on your mind?"

"Who says something is on my mind?"

"Oh come on. You have had this anxious expression on your face since I picked you up and you keep fidgeting. You smile but most of them include your eyes looking slightly distracted. You only do that when you're thinking about something."

It scared her that he knew her so well. But then again, she knew his tells too. So she sighed and explained, "It's nothing Logan. I'm probably just stressing over nothing. Uhm...Mackenzie told me this rumor at lunch and then Mr. Caulfield called me into his office later to confirm it. Oh by the way Mackenzie knows your real name now. So I don't have to call you Mac around her anymore, hence the almost slip-up on the phone. I forgot we were still at the office."

"Thats good Ace. But what rumor?"

"Uhm...HPGisbuyingTheChronicle."

"What?!" He almost jumped out of his chair.

"Logan shh! People are staring!" She wasn't incorrect, the majority of the patrons in the establishment had directed their attention at their table. It was a small place so that didn't mean many people, but still.

"Sorry but you can't just tell me that and expect me not to react."

"It's okay. When Kenzie told me I did the same thing. Then again we _were_ eating outside and there was no one around..."

"You know Mitchum comes and oversees any new paper he purchases himself. Especially something as big as The Chronicle."

"I know. I helped with the Stamford paper remember?"

"I can't believe him!"

"Listen. Maybe this thing has nothing to do with either of us. Maybe it's been in the works for ages or maybe this was a good business opportunity. We never know okay?"

"No, this is new. I would have been in charge of it or at least known about it if it was in the works for longer than six months. He had me covering the new papers and possible purchases. The Chronicle was definitely not one of them. No paper in San Francisco or the Bay Area at all was on the list actually. No, this is new. This is because of you or me."

"Are you sure? I mean there has to be a better explanation...Mitchum wouldn't...would he?"

"I'm sure Ace think about it. Newspaper purchases, especially Huntzberger Publishing Group ones take months. Most of the time several months are put into the decision of whether or not to purchase the paper or not. In my dad's case, he never goes in without at least a month of watching the paper, learning about how it works, and researching everything he can about it. The only exceptions are when a newspaper goes under or for personal matters. I haven't heard about the Chronicle going through any financial difficulties. I looked through all their papers myself. Their subscription numbers are up and circulation numbers are decent. My dad wouldn't buy a paper like that within such a short time period if there wasn't another motive. I've seen him do things like this before in very rare instances and there was always a personal motive."

"Wow okay so what are we going to do? What do you think he wants with you?"

"I don't know Ace, I don't know."

"We'll deal with it when we know more about what's going on or where Mitchum's head is okay? We won't worry about it until then. There's no reason for your pretty little head to go prematurely grey if this whole thing ends up being nothing. "

"Okay," he relented. "Wait why did Caulfield call you in to discuss this specifically? Did he call every member of the staff in individually?"

"He knew I worked for Mitchum at the Stamford paper and he noticed that the duration of my employment didn't coincide with the normal internship length, but he contrasted it with the letter of recommendation from the editor. He wanted to know if I had any personal issues with Mr. Huntzberger and if any issues I had would lead to me resigning."

Logan laughed a little before asking, "what did you tell him?"

"That any personal issues I had have long since ceased to affect my career choices or work ethic. He doesn't seem to like this Mr. Huntzberger very much…the body language was more than enough to tip that off."

Can you find a single person that actually likes my father?

"Who said it was _that_ Mr. Huntzberger he was referring to?" She shot back, but the tone of her voice made it evident that she was teasing.

"Ouch Ace. So the truth comes out after all these years…"

"Shame isn't it Mr. Huntzberger."

"Yes indeed Miss Gilmore."

They finished their dinner on a pleasant note, not returning to the not-so-pleasant situation at hand. They decided to enjoy their time together, free of any Mitchum related thoughts. They would wait and see what the next day brought. Boy were they glad they did…

* * *

"Did you hear? Did you hear?"

The office was ablaze; gossip mills were running rampant as the news of the HPG buyout spread. Some were claiming they knew it all along, others were wondering what this meant for their job, and others still were curious as to why this was happening in the first place.

Rory knew what Mitchum wanted, he got. If he wanted the Chronicle, that's what would happen. Financially secure or not, Mitchum Huntzberger would be able to offer a plan so seemingly beneficial, the paper would have no choice but to except. Of course there was always a significant benefit for Mitchum as well. He never did anything that would result in him losing money. Because after all-he was Mitchum Huntzberger, newspaper magnate.

Kate and Adele, two of the chattiest females employed in Rory's floor of the paper, decided to park their conversation right in front of Rory's desk. _Great_. She thought as she tried to tune them out and focus on writing her article. Kate was a staff writer as well, but for the entertainment section. Adele was an intern and aspiring photographer.

"Why do you think he would want a paper like The Chronicle? I mean he just bought that paper in Florida right?"

"I don't know. He's already got the New York Times and the east coast pretty much covered. Maybe he's heading west."

"No duh. But I mean why the Chronicle?"

"Who knows Adele."

"Well I do know that this should be exciting. I mean Mitchum Huntzberger!"

"Yeah sure but I heard Mitchum runs his papers himself for the first few months after buying them. And I heard the man is rather formidable."

Rory couldn't help but roll her eyes. These girls obviously had no idea what they were in for. Mitchum worked his, as Doyle would put it, cubs, hard, especially at newly acquired papers. He didn't believe in anything except efficiency and diligence during those first few months and not many could say they endured the wrath of Mitchum Huntzberger and lived to tell the tale. Or survived in the journalism world, that is. Those who stayed now were employed as editors or other high-ranking positions in the Huntzberger newspaper hierarchy. Those who hadn't generally were employed as teachers or screenplay writers or perhaps Denny's waiters. She didn't quite know. She did know that the weak didn't survive when Mitchum was on a warpath.

Her little angry train of thought was interrupted as the girls continued their loud conversation.

"So what have you heard about him coming here?"

"Nothing yet but I'm sure he will. I mean his son is here right? He works for that online media company."

Rory's head snapped up at the mention of Logan Huntzberger. Luckily, Kate and Adele were too caught up in their own conversation to notice.

"The younger Huntzberger doesn't work for his dad?"

"Adele! Honestly! You work at a paper!"

"Sorry jeez. I just graduated college, I haven't really been keeping tabs on everything in the business."

"Honestly this was huge though! Logan lost all that money for his dad's company then ended up quitting HPG and moved to California to start out on his own. He's doing pretty well I might add."

"I wonder if he's single…"

"Hrm maybe…I haven't heard anything otherwise."

Rory wanted nothing more to pipe in right there and shut them up, but she knew the repercussions would be worse than having to endure their conversation right now. After all, it wasn't as if Logan would ever do anything with either of them.

"I heard he's rather attractive. And intelligent. He graduated from Yale right?"

"Well I'm not disagreeing on the attractive thing. I've seen a couple pictures in newspapers. But who knows if Yale is him or daddy's money?"

"But if he wasn't smart he wouldn't have gotten hired to work on his own right?"

"True, true. Wait. Gilmore. Didn't you go to Yale?"

"Huh?" Rory warily turned her attention to the girls and away from the computer screen. "Yeah I went to Yale. Why?"

"Did you know him?"

"Who?"

"Logan Huntzberger." Adele rolled her eyes as if it was obvious.

"Sure. I've met him." _And I'm living with him._ She mentally added.

"What's he like?"

Rory shrugged, "a bit cocky, smart, but nice for the most part I guess. Why?"

"Just wondering. How did you say you knew him?"

"I didn't. But we both worked on the Yale Daily News. I was his editor for a year."

"Really? How was that?"

"Uhh I was his editor. I gave him assignments and he turned in articles."

"Oh. Well…." Seemingly unsatisfied with the answers Rory was giving, Kate and Adele turned their attention away from her and back to their shallow conversation.

Rory couldn't stand it any longer and as soon as enough time had elapsed, she went off in search of Mackenzie. She found her in the break room, pouring a cup of coffee.

"Kenz guess what just happened?"

"What?"

"I got interrogated by Kate and Adele. About Logan."

"Uh how did this happen? What did they ask you? What did you say?"

"Spoken like a true reporter Kenz. Uhh they were talking about the buyout, they asked me if I had met Logan, how I knew him, what he was like, and what it was like being his editor. I told them yes I met him, we worked on the Daily News together, and that he is cocky but nice..ish."

"So you just left out the part where you've been sleeping with him for over three years?"

"Kenzie! Sh! Plus you make it sound so dirty."

"But it is. A few hundred years ago and you could be parading around wearing a scarlet letter for doing something like this. Living with a man you're not married to, tsk tsk."

"You did not just compare me to Hester Prynne."

"Oh yes, I just did." She snickered, "but all this aside, how are things with you and…Mac?"

"Oh good. We went to dinner last night. He scared the whole restaurant by yelling when I told him about the buyout. We decided what we were going to do about it. He said a few things. I said a few things. And we both agreed to not worry about it until we know for sure what exactly is going on."

"So no trouble in paradise?"

Rory smiled, "nope, all is well."


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Sorry, it's been a little while and this chapter is kind of short, but a lot happens. There will be more Rory/Logan in the next chapter as things begin to unfold. Read and review please :) **

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Gilmore Girls :(**

* * *

Logan rubbed a hand over his tired eyes, attempting to wake himself up. He was on his third cup of coffee that morning and was slightly afraid that he was turning into a Gilmore girl. Living with Rory was great. Their little house in Palo Alto was a perfect little bubble that let them escape reality, simply allowing Rory to be Rory and Logan to be Logan. If that made sense.

The Internet company was doing great. As he gradually gained respect in Palo Alto, the newspapers began to stop adding the "Michum Huntzberger" in articles about him. Stocks were up and employees were happy. The days were long and sometimes he missed the carefree ways of his youth, but he was getting what he wanted. Things were falling into place/ He had his girl. Despite the long hours in the office, life was going pretty good. But there was the ever-daunting idea that Mitchum Huntzberger, the Dark Lord himself, would soon be purchasing the San Francisco Chronicle and hopping on the jet, headed for the West Coast. He pushed all thoughts of his father aside as frequently as he could. It just wasn't worth it quite yet. He would deal with it later. After a couple glasses of strong liquor, he might add.

* * *

Rory finished typing her article for the week and quickly saved it to her hard drive. She unplugged the USB from her computer and walked over to hand it in.

"Already Gilmore? It's only Wednesday!" Her boss looked a little perplexed. He never understood how someone as new as her managed to turn in each assignment she was handed a good two days before it was due.

She shrugged and smiled, "I'm used to having a short deadline. I like writing. Why put it off?"

"I'm going to have to start giving you more work...Apparently I'm going easy on you."

"I would be glad to write more."

He chucked at her enthusiasm. "All right then Gilmore. I actually do have another article for you this week. You know Mitchum Huntzberger's son?"

She stiffened a little, but kept any sign of shock off her face, "yes, I do."

"Well before the Huntzberger buyout becomes public we're going to run a short article on his new company. We needed something else for the business section, but we were having a hard time finding someone to write it. I know it's not necessarily your section, but would you be up for it?"

"Uh, what exactly would it entail?"

"Just a background on his company and its success. The stocks went up a good margin this week and if we don't write about it, we'll be the only paper in the area not covering it."

"Oh uhh okay."

"Perfect. Here's the full assignment sheet. Can you have it done by...say Friday? You can keep it short. The interview has already been set up for tomorrow."

"That will be fine. Actually, I knew Mr. Huntzberger in college and I believe I still have his phone number. It may be easier for me to contact him that way."

"Oh really? You know Logan Huntzberger?"

"Yes, I was his editor at the Daily News."

"Well then I'll leave the interview up to you then. Thank you Rory, I look forward to reading your piece."

"I'll have it in by Friday."

What had she gotten herself into? She wanted more writing jobs at the paper, but a piece on her boyfriend? Should she have told Mr. Caulfield? Or should she just turn in her piece and keep it as unbiased as possible. After all, she was a professional. She could do this...right? She shook her head a couple of times and sighed before pressing "one" on her speed dial.

He picked up after two rings, "Ace? What's up?"

"Hello Mr. Huntzberger this is Rory Gilmore from the San Francisco Chronicle. I was wondering if I could interview you for a piece on your company...well namely you...that my boss has just assigned me out of the blue."

"You're kidding." He deadpanned before quickly returning the slightly teasing formal tone, "Well Miss Gilmore, I believe that could be arranged."

"Why thank you Mr. Huntzberger. I appreciate you taking time out of your very busy schedule to be interviewed by a lowly newspaper reporter such as myself."

"Well you know its a stretch...but anytime Ace. I'll see you later." She could hear him laughing over the phone.

"Bye Logan."

* * *

When she got home that evening she found Logan sitting at the kitchen table, typing away on his computer.

"Hey babe."

"Hey Ace," he grinned up at her. "I heard someone had an eventful day at work. Would you care to explain it to me?"

"Well I went to turn my article in and seeing as it's only Wednesday, I said I would gladly accept any other pieces he needed written. Well it ended up being a business/feature piece on one Logan Huntzberger. I was supposed to interview you tomorrow, but I figured I could reach you another way."

"Does he know that we know each other?"

"I told him that I was your editor at Yale and I left it at that. I mean it's not technically lying..._I was _your editor at Yale."

"True. So. What do you need for the interview?"

"Uhh just a couple of quotes on how you think your business is going. All of which I already have. Although I'm not sure he wants to publish pillow talk...so I better do a formal interview just to avoid suspicion."

"Yeah that would probably be best Ace."

Pulling out a tape recorder, Rory managed to put on her serious business face, "so Mr. Huntzberger. Do you mind if I record this conversation?"

"Not at all." He matched her tone, but a smirk danced on his lips.

She asked him a series of questions all pertaining to the basics of his business and his plans for the future before shutting off the recorder.

"Get everything you needed?"

"Yep. I'll have the piece done by tomorrow."

"You work fast."

"That's what they tell me."

"Wait, if you did the interview now, that means I'll have a break in my schedule tomorrow. Grab lunch with me?"

"Sure." She grinned. "I would love that."

"Perfect. I'll send a car to pick you up."

"Logan! You don't have to do that!"

"I want to. You can't say no."

She rolled her eyes at him,"so. What do you want for dinner? Chinese or Thai?"

"You pick."

"Tonight feels like a Thai night."

"Sounds good. Do you want me to call?"

"Would you?" She smiled sweetly at him.

"Of course Ace."

"Alright I'm going to go get changed and take a shower. I'll be back in a little bit."

"I'll be here with food."

"And that's why I love you."

* * *

At the office the next day, Rory was once again cornered by Adele.

"So Gilmore. I heard you got the Huntzberger piece."

"Yep." Rory was sitting at her desk, pretending to be very interested in the article open on her computer.

"Did you get an interview?"

"Yep."

"How was it?"

"It was an interview."

"No, I mean really, what was he like?"

"I believe you've already asked me that question. It was a professional interview, I asked him questions about work, end of story."

"God if I had an interview with Logan Huntzberger...I mean think of how good of a connection that would be!"

Rory sighed, "I'm sure Logan really appreciates people viewing him as nothing more than a connection. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an article to finish."

Adele huffed, then walked away, running into a man headed in the opposite direction.

"Oh! Sorry!" She squeaked as she looked up and noticed who it was she ran into.

"It's quite alright." The man gave a forced smile. Rory recognized that voice. She hadn't heard it in awhile. Apparently he noticed her as well, "hello Miss Gilmore. Fancy seeing you here."

She froze. "Hello Mitc-Mr. Huntzberger."

"Oh don't be silly, it's still Mitchum. Now what are you doing here? Last I heard you were still on the East Coast."

"I'm a staff writer here. I have been for a couple months now."

"Really now? Good for you."

"Thank you, sir." Her voice had never been so formal. Rory's mind was racing. _What was he doing here? Why was he being nice to her? Did he know? _Adele just stood there gawking at the scene.

"Well if you ladies will excuse me, I have a meeting with your editor."

"Goodbye Mitchum."

Oh god, oh god.

* * *

Mitchum walked into Andrew Caulfield's office, still bemused at the appearance of Rory Gilmore. It couldn't be a coincidence that she was in San Francisco. Could it?

"Hello Sir." Caulfield stood up upon Mitchum's entrance, offering a hand.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Caulfield."

"Likewise Mr. Huntzberger."

"So I typically come out to examine papers I have recently acquired and meet with the heads of all the departments as well as the editors just to see how things are run. The Chronicle seems to be in good standing though."

"Thank you sir?"

"No need to be so afraid Mr. Caulfield, I'm not that scary."

Mr. Caulfield laughed nervously, "all right Sir. What would you like to know?"

"How is your section going? Everything running smoothly?"

"Things are great. We have no trouble meeting all of our deadlines and the writers aren't overburdened."

"No shortages of staff?"

"Nope. We actually hired a couple new writers a few months ago."

"Ah yes. I did notice that. Are they keeping up?"

"Yessir. I actually think Miss Gilmore is writing more than two of our other older staff members combined."

"Ahh the girl does have a knack for journalism."

"Oh yes, I forgot she was employed by you previously."

"Yes, Miss Gilmore assisted me through a similar process as this during her years at Yale."

"Well she certainly has a talent for this business."

"That she does." Mitchum mused a little bit. So Rory was succeeding here. He read a couple of her pieces and he had to admit, the girl was good. Maybe it was time for a re-evaluation about her professional career. Now he just had to figure out _why_ she was in San Francisco and if Logan knew. _He must..._Mitchum mused.

They continued to discuss other areas in the section, not bringing up Rory Gilmore again. Mitchum wondered if Andrew knew anything about Rory's romantic history with his son. He would have to find out one way or another.

* * *

"Logan Huntzberger."

"Hello Logan, it's your father."

"Hello Dad. What do you want?"

"I'm in town working and I was wondering if you wanted to go for a drink. I need to speak to you about something. It's rather urgent."

"Uhh I'm a little busy with work this week, but would tonight work? Around seven-ish?"

"That would be fine. I'm at the Mariott in downtown San Francisco. Meet me here. There's a decent bar down the street."

"Alright. See you then."

Oh boy, this was going to be interesting. He ran a hand through his messy blonde hair again, suddenly feeling the need for a glass of scotch. Neat. Urgent matters having to do with his father were never good.

* * *

**AN: The next chapter will be more eventful! Just suffering from some minor writers block...**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I'm so nice! Updates two days in a row! Hehe well anyways here it is. You know, if I get a lot of reviews for this chapter, I may be tempted to write another one really, really soon. Hint hint.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls, just this plot : ( Sad isn't it?**

* * *

Logan couldn't put it off any longer—he had to go see his father. Hopping into the car, he called Rory.

"Hey Mac," Logan chuckled; she must still be at work. It was funny because she said she was just 'wrapping things up' and 'about to head out the door' a solid twenty minutes ago.

"Hey Ace. I was just calling to let you know that I won't be home for dinner, but if I'm out past eight with no word will you please call the cops and report a hostage situation."

"Ah so your dad found you?"

"How did you know?"

"I ran into him at the office. No wait, Adele literally _ran_ into him. I just happened to be standing right next to her. I guess he had a meeting with my editor."

"Ouch. How did that go?"

"Well I couldn't tell you how the editor meeting went, but I mean he was nice. What's that supposed to mean, huh? I mean he's the one that told me I 'didn't have it' and then all of the sudden, I had it, and then we broke up so I don't even know anymore!"

"It's okay Ace. Breathe. It's just what he does. He makes people crazy. Why do you think I've been avoiding him all these years?"

She sighed audibly, "I guess. So you're meeting with him? What does he want."

It was his turn to sigh. "I don't know Ace."

"Do you think he knows about us?"

"Well unless Finn told him, I don't see how he could. But it's Mitchum, you never know."

Logan heard her groan a little bit, "all right. Are you going to tell him?"

"I won't say anything if you don't want me to, but unless you tell me specifically not to, there's a small chance it will come up. If he saw you today he will definitely ask what you are doing here."

"Arghh. Okay they're going to find out eventually." He knew by "they" she meant not only his parents, but her grandparents as well.

"Okay Ace I'm ere. Remember, have the police on speed dial. I'll be home by nine. Possibly quarter till nine. Maybe even eight thirty."

"Just go Logan. Good luck."

He sighed, "thanks. I'll see you later."

"I'll be the one with aspirin!"

"I knew there was a reason I love you."

"Jee thanks Mac. Love you too."

He shut his phone, took a breath, and got out of the car.

* * *

Upon entering the hotel bar, Logan spotted his father immediately. Coming up behind his father, Logan decided it was better to just get it over with.

"Hey Dad."

"Logan." Mitchum turned towards his son and nodded to him, gesturing for Logan to take the empty seat beside him. "How are you enjoying California?"

"Err, it's great. I love the weather." Logan was thoroughly puzzled to say the least. His father was being _civil_.

"Good, good. Business is good?" Mitchum gave a throaty laugh before following up, "do I even need to ask that? I could read all about it in the majority of major newspapers on this continent."

"Yeah business is good. I'm working a lot and it's hard, but things are going well."

"Well a little hard work never hurt anyone."

"Sure…so tell me what are you doing here Dad?" Logan was done with the pleasantries. His father wasn't nice. After all, they hadn't dubbed him The Dark Lord for nothing.

"I recently purchased a paper in the area and I came to check things out. You should know, you helped me with several projects such as this one."

"Yeah I know how it works which is why I was a little confused. Why the Chronicle? I didn't see any plans for the purchase when I was working for you and I know how long these deals take."

The older Huntzberger shrugged, "it was a good business decision Logan."

"Okay…so why did you want to meet with me today?"

"Can't a father meet for his son when he's in town?"

"Yes but we both know you don't do this unless you want something."

"Thank you for the faith you have in me son."

"What Dad? It's the truth."

"You're never going to appreciate everything I've done for you, are you?"

"Everything you've done for me? Like what Dad? Raising me to be a mini you? Not taking into consideration my own personal happiness might I add? You didn't approve of the people I hung out with, the classes I took, the activities I participated in. Nothing."

"Oh, you mean like womanizing, drinking, and jumping off of cliffs? Yes of course your father would totally endorse that idiotic behavior."

"Like you're any better?"

"What is your point Logan?"

"What's yours?"

Mitchum sighed, running a hand through his receding hairline. "I have been diagnosed with a heart condition. On doctor's orders I will be stepping down from my position as CEO of Huntzberger Publishing Group in a couple of months and I wanted to ask you to return to the company. I would hate to have it go to someone outside of the family. You were raised for this. You're good at this Logan."

"I'm sorry about the heart condition, but what makes you think I want to come back? You came all of the way out here to guilt trip me into working for you again?"

"Listen, you will come back because it's the right thing to do. First of all, you would not be working for me. I am being forced to resign from the company all together, so you would be your own boss. Secondly, I came all of the way out here to look over a paper I purchased so that my son could stay where he was, but still take my offer on this position."

"So that's why you bought the Chronicle." Logan couldn't help it. It was the only coherent thought running through his mind at that moment in time.

"Yes Logan."

"Why me? I'm sure there are plenty of people who actually work for HPG that are ten times more qualified than I am."

"Like I said, I want this to be a family business. Plus you've been trained for this your whole life; there's no one more qualified than you."

Logan sighed, knowing full well that his father wouldn't give up. "Let me get this straight. You want me to take over HPG, but I can still be based on the West Coast?"

"For the time being, yes. You can supervise the Chronicle and any other West Coast publications, but it is my hope that you return to the East Coast eventually. I ran into Miss Gilmore today and I understand that you must have things…keeping you here."

"Last I heard you and Mom were still pushing for the 'lovely Fallon girl.'"

"Times change Logan. So it's true? You are involved with Miss Gilmore again?"

"Yes."

"All right then. I suppose you want to talk it over with her."

"Yes."

"I'll be in San Francisco a week, Logan. I need your answer by then. After that we can sort out the rest of the particulars. I assume Rory is waiting on your phone call so I will leave you to it. Goodbye Logan."

Logan just nodded after his father.

* * *

Logan opened the front door to his house slowly, but let it slam behind him.

"Logan?" Rory was on the couch with her laptop and a mug of coffee in front of her. Upon his entry she scrambled up to a standing position before walking over to him with a worried expression on her face.

"Hey," he kissed her quickly before heading to the kitchen to grab some form of alcohol; any kind would do.

"That bad?" He noticed that the promised Advil was sitting on the counter next to a glass of water. He gratefully swallowed the pills, gulping down the water as she stared at him, expecting an answer. Nixing the alcohol idea, he settled for her drink of choice instead.

"He wants me back at HPG…"

"Well that much was obvious Logan. That wouldn't have you so worked up."

"As the CEO. He wants me back as CEO."

"Oh…what did you say?"

"He has a heart condition and he was to step down either way. He'll let me stay in San Francisco and run the Chronicle for a year or so, but he wants me back on the East Coast. He knows about us and he's okay with it. But that might just be part of the act." Logan ran a hand over his tired face and through his already messy blonde hair.

"Logan I don't doubt that you'll have good reason for whatever you decide, but the decision itself is kind of important. I can hear about the rest later."

"I have a week to decide. I don't know Ace. I don't know."

"Well what does your first instinct say? Before anyone else can be taken into consideration? Your first instinct."

"I…I'm leaning towards yes."

"The long hours? The travel?"

"I can deal with long hours. I'll be the CEO; they'll have to listen to me about that stuff. Plus I mean I'm already working long hours here. I'll make sure I don't turn into my father. I know enough to never let that happen to me. "

She nodded. "Then yes it is."

"Just like that?"

"Yes, just like that. You said we have a year right? Well I can keep working at the Chronicle and you, I guess, can work there too. When the year is up I'll start applying for jobs back East. I never planned on making a permanent residence in California, unless of course, somehow you went crazy and decided to take me back. Anyways your dad can't force you out of the country on a whim anymore because like you said, you'll be the CEO, they have to listen to you. The long hours you said you'll deal with. You're great at this Logan. You already said that you were going to go back eventually. If you want this, then take it."

"Well what…what about you? I mean this would change a lot for you and I don't want to take any options away…"

"Logan. Stop. This is my decision too. Like I said, I wasn't planning on staying in California. The New York Times is still my dream and I'm going to get there someday. Plus the East Coast is my home. Why would you even think that I would object to moving back there?"

"But your job? And I mean the new job would be _a lot_ of work. I can't promise I'll be home every night at seven. You were right before, I can't expect you to follow me around the country."

"Logan I know your job will be a lot of work. But if we survived being an entire ocean apart and then six months of being broken up, I think we'll be okay. No, I know we will."

"You're amazing you know that?"

"I believe that's the general consensus," she smirked at him.

"I'll call my dad in a couple of days. If I give him an answer right away, I'll seem to eager. If I'm coming back, it will be on my terms."

She nodded again, "I wouldn't have expected it any other way."

He reached out and placed a hand on her cheek before kissing her softly, trying to convey everything he felt in that particular moment. It worked. She kissed him back and it was almost as if she was saying that she knew. And it was then he realized it was all going to be okay. As long as he had her, it was all going to be okay.

* * *

As planned, Logan called Mitchum two days later to inform him that he was considering coming back to HPG, but he just needed to know the exact details before committing to an answer. Mitchum had responded by saying he knew that Logan would come to his senses and "do the right thing." They had a meeting with their lawyers the next day to discuss contracts.

Together Rory and Logan had come up with a series of conditions that they wanted included in the contract for the period of time when Mitchum would still be in charge of the company. First, there was to be no excessive travel or last minute trips unless absolutely necessary. All business trips had to be approved at least a week in advance unless it was an emergency and then 48 to 24 hours warning would be fine. Secondly, weekends were work-free unless on a business trip. This meant no phone calls or house visits telling him that he needed to take care of anything that could be dealt with on Monday. Emails would be okay as long as they didn't require his immediate attention. Third, after Logan left the office, there would be no late night phone calls about work unless it was an absolute emergency. Lastly, Mitchum would not tell anyone about Logan and Rory's relationship. Rory still wanted to make sure that the people in her workplace respected her for her work and didn't make assumptions about how she got her job. If directly asked by one of her superiors, she hadn't decided if she would deny it yet, but she knew that she didn't want it to spread around.

They both thought it was a solid foundation for the time being and that other details were sure to be hashed out during said lawyers meeting.

After contracts were signed, Logan gave his resignation notice to the internet company he had been working with and set up meetings with the editors of the Chronicle.

In a small, typical Rory Gilmore state of panic one night, Rory paced back and forth in their room, wringing her hands nervously.

"Ace it will be fine."

"But what if it isn't? What if he thinks that I've somehow managed to get this job just because I'm dating you? I mean I'm still pretty new here…"

"Ace. You were hired before we got back together. I didn't even know you were coming to San Francisco when you were hired! Plus I wasn't working for HPG either. There was no connection. This just happened okay? It will be totally fine." He hated that she was so worried about this. He hated that his career put hers in jeopardy. But if this Mr. Gold had even an ounce of logic, he would understand.

All of the sudden Rory started giggling uncontrollably. "Ace? Rory? Are you all right?" Truth be told the laughing scared him more than the ranting. Ranting he was used to. Unexplained giggles? Not so much.

"I just realized that you are going to be my boss. Kind of a role reversal from the Daily News eh?"

He raised an eyebrow, "this is just occurring to you now?"

"I guess it just hit me."

"Well I'm glad you find it funny."

"No seriously. Should I start calling you Mr. Huntzberger?" She teased, knowing how much he hated it.

"Ew. Every time someone says that I want to turn around and look for my father. Or hide. Either way."

"Logan seriously though what are we going to do at work? Pretend we don't know each other? Wait actually that wouldn't work because people already know I know you…I'm pretty sure Adele and Kate have spread the news around the entire section by now."

"We'll just say that we're friends, we met at Yale, we worked on the paper together, and I had no idea you would be here until after HPG bought the Chronicle. It's all true." He shrugged.

"Just omitting the truth then…" She contemplated this for a moment. The ramifications of admitting that she was not only dating, but also living with her boss were sure to be severe. "Okay I'm okay with that."

"I'm glad Ace."

"Oh god…I'm living one of those freaky HBO shows where the lowly reporter is having a steamy affair with her sexy boss." She groaned, plopping herself down onto the couch.

"Steamy affair? Sexy boss?" Saying he was amused would be an understatement.

"Shuddup."

"No Ace, I want to hear more about this sexy boss. I mean it's pretty accurate…"

"Considering technically your father is still my boss as of right now…."

"Details, details. No really, I want to hear. What exactly about your boss do you find to be sexy?" He smirked as she rolled her eyes.

"Pretty soon your ego will be so large I won't be able to fit in a room with you. You'll have to get a new car too. That little Porsche of yours…" She shook her head, still mocking him.

"Mean."

"Nope. Just the truth."

He grinned at her before leaning over to attach her lips to his.

* * *

**Wow I'm being really nice! Two chapters _and_ no cliffy? Might as well call me santa! Just kidding.**

**Read and review please :) :) xoxo**


	15. Chapter 15

Logan and Rory were both so busy over the next couple of weeks they barely had time to share a cup of coffee in the morning before heading their separate ways. Rory's editor had finally decided to give her bigger stories, which, obviously, required a lot more work. She rarely finished an assignment more than a few hours before her deadline, some days working up until the last half hour. This was okay by her as it gave her the chance to prove herself as a writer, but it didn't do much for her in terms of getting home on time.

Logan was planning and preparing to take over the family business in a few short months. He knew this day was inevitable, but in a way it still hadn't fully sunk in yet. For years his occupation as CEO of Huntzberger Publishing Group was nothing more than a obligation at a later date, but now his preordained life was officially starting, and he found himself accepting it. It turns out, even the London stint wasn't anything like the real deal. But, as much as he loathed admitting it, his father was right; he was trained for just this. The life of the future CEO of HPG was hectic to say the least. In three weeks he made two business trips to the East Coast, was constantly in meetings with department heads of all sorts, and had nightly phone conversations with Mitchum to go over details. It was almost never before one a.m. when he collapsed into bed, only to wake up five hours later and repeat the process.

The whole thing reminded Rory of that period of time at their Yale apartment when she was still getting over the bridesmaids debacle, only this time she wasn't upset and intentionally avoiding Logan. This was just how it was. they both knew it had to calm down eventually-this madness was only temporary. The long hours at the desk and the lack of quality time together was eating away at both of them, but Rory pushed it off as suffering for their art. Right? She was almost always asleep by the time he stumbled into bed, and although they woke up to the same alarm, he headed to work a good hour before she did. To be blunt, they hadn't even had sex in a little over two weeks. Not that she was a sex addict or anything, but she _did_ just go six months without him. Her mind strayed to the lack of Logan in her life often, and she dismissed it with a sigh before returning to work.

In the fourth week after accepting his position at HPG, Logan paid a visit to the Chronicle for the first time. He had met with all of the major department heads already, but today was the first time he would be observing the paper's employees in action. Logan and Rory decided that it would be best if they went along with the story that they knew each other from Yale, but they had no idea the other would be here. It would be the best option for both of them. So Rory went about her day as normally as she possibly could, wondering if and when she would run into him.

Logan walked through the building, introducing himself to the smaller editors and such. He set up meetings for each of the departments in order to introduce himself to the staff. Ironically, it was on his hunt for coffee that he found her. She was at her desk, back arched, typing away furiously.

"Rory? Rory Gilmore?" She didn't look up, her eyes squinting at the lit screen even more. "Lorelai. Rory."

'What huhh?" She looked up from her trance to find her boyfriend looking at her with a rather amused expression on his face. "Logan?"

"Hey! How are you?"

"Good, good. Busy. You know…"

"Considering you work here I suppose that's a good thing." She followed his gaze to see the gawking small group of writers who were watching this exchange.

"Ohh that's right. You're the new boss."

"That would be me. Kind of a role reversal here huh?"

"Something like that." She grinned, "I guess there's no more ordering you around huh Logan? Oh wait, no sorry _Mr. Huntzberger._"

He smirked at her, "I was wondering if you might point me in the direction of the coffee. I know you know where it is."

Almost automatically she replied, "left down that hallway, first door on your right."

"Why thank you Miss Gilmore. I'll let you get back to your work now. Wouldn't want to let the big boss see you slacking off!" She rolled her eyes at him as he turned around. He was just able to catch her discreetly mouthing "butt-faced miscreant" before he walked off towards the break room. Yeah, this was going to be fun.

The minute Logan departed, and was seemingly out of earshot, the little cluster of eavesdroppers pounced.

"How do you know him?!"

"Wow you call him his first name?"

"Wait did you know he was going to be working here?"

"Oh my god he's so hot do you have his number?"

Rory rolled her eyes a little before starting off on a list of answers she had already come up with. "I know him from Yale. We were both on the Daily News and I was his editor for a period of time. So yes, I call him by his first name. I found out about the buyout the same time everyone else did, so when I was hired I had no idea. Finally, I am not in a position to give out any phone numbers I may or may not have. That would be up to him. Now may I get back to work?"

They all mumbled and walked away, still quietly speculating on the conversation they had just heard. Rory just returned to typing away, picturing Logan in the break room right now. She knew all too well that the sound carried perfectly through the hallway into that particular room and he had surely heard the whole thing. He was probably dying laughing at this current point in time.

Rory was right in assuming Logan heard everything. He was sitting the break room, sipping his coffee with an amused expression on his face. He was still sitting there when a tall, pretty, auburn haired girl walked in, headed straight for the coffee pot. After filling a mug and taking a few long gulps, she noticed him sitting there.

"Oh god you scared me!" She jumped, almost spilling her hot beverage. She placed her free hand over her chest, breathing heavily.

"My apologies." He smiled at her and extended his hand, "Logan Huntzberger."

She rolled her eyes, "yeah I know who you are. I'm Mackenzie Vanderbilt." She extended her own right hand.

"Oh yes that's right, Steph's cousin!"

"One and same. So _Mr. Huntzberger_ how are you liking the Chronicle?"

He rolled his eyes. Obviously Rory had told her about his hatred of people calling him that. Or maybe having Vanderbilt as a last name gave her a familiar understanding of the sensation. "It's been great so far. Meeting a lot of interesting people."

"Ah yes, I would check out Elliot from Business. No one quite knows why he insists on wearing a monkey tie every day…eh his writing is good though."

"A monkey tie?" _Was there a specific type of tie that related to monkeys? _

"Yes. A tie with monkeys on it. You really should check out his collection, it's quite extensive actually."

"Uhh maybe someday."

She chuckled a little bit, "well I better be off. Don't want the boss to think I'm lazy!"

Getting up himself, Logan could see not only Mackenzie's relation to Steph, but also why Rory saw that girl as a friend. Draining his mug, he continued his rounds.

Rory was almost finished with her research for her newest piece when her cell phone buzzed. "Mac," flashed on the screen so she ceased typing and flipped her Sidekick open.

**Mac:** Hey Ace, I just met your friend... I can see why you like her

**Ace:** She's pretty great isn't she?

**Mac: **Shares your love of coffee too now doesn't she?

**Ace:** Who doesn't love coffee? It's magical. I swear.

**Mac:** Alright Ace, whatever you say...

**Ace:** Shouldn't you be working mister? ;)

**Mac:** Probably. I miss you Ace.

**Ace:** Miss you too. I'll see you at home.

Just as Logan shut his phone, he was whisked away to another series of meetings. By seven o'clock that night, Logan had already been situated in an office of his own in the Chronicle's building. Sighing, he rubbed his hand over his tired eyes, trying to keep himself going for just a little while longer.

"Mr. Huntzberger?" He looked up to find a girl standing in his doorway. She was probably in her early to mid twenties, she had blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes, but they weren't nearly as pretty as his Ace's. This girl was the definition of conventional beauty.

"Hello. What can I do for you?"

Closing his office door a little bit, she added a seductive layer to her voice before replying, "the question isn't what you can do for me, but what can I do for you?"

"Excuse me?"

She walked over to him confidently, making sure to sway her hips from side to side. She bit a perfectly glossed lip as she smiled at him from under heavy lashes.

"I've heard all about you Mr. Huntzberger. Playboy extraordinaire."

"Well you may have to check your sources because I haven't been that way for a long time…I'm sorry what is your name?"

"Adele Winters."

Ahh so this was Adele. "Miss Winters, I can assure you that I am not in need of anything you could 'do for me.' In fact, I suggest you leave right now. Otherwise your job may be at risk."

"You know you don't mean that Logan." She purred, still advancing. At this point he was standing, attempting to direct her to the door. She wasn't backing down.

Logan gulped.

* * *

Back at her desk, Rory was proudly putting the final touches on her article. Despite the lengths she had to take to get an interview with the head of the organization she was covering, she was finally finished with the piece. Checking the time on her cell phone, she realized that if she headed home now, she might actually be able to get dinner ready for Logan when he arrived later on. Looking around she realized the place was almost completely vacated so she decided that she might as well pop in to his office to let him know her plan.

Happily packing up her belongings, she headed up to his floor. He had texted her the location of his office a few hours ago, so she counted the numbers on the doors as she walked by. Running into Mackenzie on the way, the two girls made their way to his door. Noticing it was slightly open, she knocked quickly while simultaneously pushing the door open all of the way.

"Oh my god," she whispered before walking quickly away. Mackenzie was confused for a moment before taking a look for herself. There was Logan, standing halfway between his desk and the door, kissing Adele Winters. Mackenzie quickly tore down the hallway after her friend.

Had they arrived one second earlier, they would have seen that this kiss lasted barely over a second. Had they stayed two seconds longer, they would have seen Logan shove Adele off of him, wipe off his lips, scream a few well-chosen words at her, then promptly fire her on the spot. They would have seen that this whole thing was a misunderstanding. That Adele Winters may have been a complete and total bitch, but Logan was no cheater.

But they didn't stay.

* * *

**A/N: I'm mean. I know. I'm sorry. R&R and i'll post again soon :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**I know, I know. I'm not mean. That was evil. But it needed to happen, so it did. Like caro1414 said, a little bit of angst never hurt anyone! But anyways, here is the next chapter. I hope you like it!**

**Warning: This is a little bit angst-y at times so there will be some swearing. If that offends you, my sincerest apologies. It's the reason I rated this fic T at the beginning so I think the rating is still accurate. **

**Disclaimer: I still don't know what my parents are getting me for Christmas. But I'm pretty sure it's not Gilmore Girls. **

* * *

___Before Rory saw..._

_"Hello. What can I do for you?"_

_Closing his office door a little bit, she added a seductive layer to her voice before replying, "the question isn't what you can do for me, but what can I do for you?"_

_"Excuse me?"_

_She walked over to him confidently, making sure to sway her hips from side to side. She bit a perfectly glossed lip as she smiled at him from under heavy lashes._

_"I've heard all about you Mr. Huntzberger. Playboy extraordinaire."_

_"Well you may have to check your sources because I haven't been that way for a long time…I'm sorry what is your name?"_

_"Adele Winters."_

_Ahh so this was Adele. "Miss Winters, I can assure you that I am not in need of anything you could 'do for me.' In fact, I suggest you leave right now. Otherwise your job may be at risk."_

_"You know you don't mean that Logan." She purred, still advancing. At this point he was standing, attempting to direct her to the door. She wasn't backing down._

_Logan gulped._

* * *

He stood up and walked towards Adele, reaching out in order to motion that she needed to turn around and leave. Immediately. Apparently Adele took this the wrong way, grabbing his hand and wrapping it around her waist, holding it there with her own.

"Miss Winters, this is highly inappropriate. Not only am I your employer, but I do have a girlfriend. I am not interested in you like that and I strongly advise that you remove your hand from mine right now." He moved his free hand to attempt to remove his captive one from her waist. He was successful at removing it from her waist, but she clung to it still. Just as their hands were dangling in a position that looked like they were holding hands, she leaned in and kissed him.

He was so shocked for a moment that he didn't move. Somewhere in the back of his mind he had heard someone knowing on the dor as she leaned in. After a moment of their lips pressing together, Logan pushed Adele away, wiping at his face.

"Miss Winters what the hell was that?" He shot her a glare before turning to look at the door, expecting to see someone standing there. He figured it was his secretary. Instead he found that the door was open to a different width than how he had left it, meaning that someone had in fact come in...and left.

_Shit, shit, shit._ If it had been his secretary at the door, she wouldn't have left. He glanced down the hallway just in time to see a flash of brown hair followed by MAckenzie's auburn locks. _Shit._ He knew he had to chase after Rory, but he couldn't blow his cover in front of Adele. Also, he had a few words he wanted to share with her.

"I don't know how me telling you that I am not interested, in a relationship, and your fucking boss equates to..." he gestured wildly, "whatever the fuck that was. I have no choice but to let you go. Effective immediately. You have the rest of your night to collect your things. Goodbye Miss Winters I better not see you ever again."

He had a lot of other, certainly more colorful, words he wished to use, but in that moment all he could think about was Rory and what she might be thinking right now. He grabbed his phone and his keys and raced after her.

* * *

Honestly, Rory didn't know what was going on. All she knew was that she needed to get out of there. Fast.

Her mind was racing at a mile a minute, millions of different things running constant loops through her brain. Only one clear thought rang out above the rest; _how could he?_ It wasn't even all anger. She was beyond pissed, who wouldn't be? But on top of that she was hurt. In that moment, she was more hurt than mad.

She heard Mackenzie following her, so when she got to the street outside, she allowed Mackenzie to slide into the taxi seat next to her.

Rory gave the cab driver an address and they sped away. After several long, awkward minutes, Mackenzie tried, "how are you doing?"

"I just found out my boyfriend is or was cheating on me. With the one person I can't stand. On his _first_ day here. How do you think I'm doing?"

"Maybe there's an explanation?" Mackenzie winced, she was trying to make Rory feel better, but at this point she wasn't even convincing herself of anything. She too had seen Logan wrapped around Adele.

"You see with Logan there's always some miraculous explanation." Rory sighed and leaned back against the seat. Taking up a mocking tone, Rory relayed, "'It was just companionship it meant nothing,' 'Rory I love you,' 'I thought we were broken up,' 'I was stupid,' 'my dad,' 'my mom,' 'I don't "do" commitment.' The list goes on forever."

Mackenzie gasped, just sitting there in awe, "this has happened before?"

"Not quite this exactly. The first time we broke up he neglected to _inform_ me that we had broken up. Oh no, I didn't hear it from him, but from his _sister__! His sister!_ Anyways he goes off and sleeps with an entire bridal party. His sister's bridal party actually. Which I had the pleasure of finding out while trapped in a room with _all _of them at Honor's wedding."

"Wow."

"Yep."

"You forgave him?"

"I listened to the excuses first. Disappeared to Stars Hollow for a couple days. Avoided him for a couple more. But then the idiot almost died jumping off a cliff. Scared me into realizing that I still loved him. Oh and then his dad shipped him off to London for five months."

"Wow."

"Yep."

They sat in silence again, Rory trying to hold it together and Mackenzie processing the information her friend had just shared. Rory sighed again and pulled out her cell phone. She already had three missed calls from Logan. After dialing a familiar number, Rory heard the recipient of her call picked up on the third ring.

"Morgan."

"Gilmore." She matched his tone, making a side note to be amused that he was in a place in his life in which the business-appropriate greeting would be necessary.

"Love!" The new tone of his Australian-accented voice made it obvious Logan hadn't told him anything yet.

"Hey Finn."

"What can I do for you love?"

"Is there any chance you have an open hotel room still?"

"Why? Do you and lover boy need a get away."

"He does't. I do. I'm moving out."

"What?!" Finn screeched and Rory had to hold the phone away from her ear.

"He cheated on me. I saw. I'm moving out." She didn't have the time or energy to elaborate.

"He did what?!"

"Finn I just need somewhere to stay for the night. I'll be out of your hair after that. I just can't be alone with him right now. I can't."

"No don't be silly love, I'll let the hotel know."

"Thanks Finn. Oh and can you please not tell Logan which room I'm in? I just can't deal with that right now."

"Are you sure? Okay well yeah he's a cheating bastard. Okay you have my word love."

"I'll be there in an hour. Maybe less. Thanks again."

"Anytime love." She heard him mutter "of all the idiotic things..." before they both hung up.

The minute she got off the phone with Finn, the screen lit up, the caller ID flashing "Mac." She pressed ignore, then shut her phone off, throwing it into her bag.

_Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry._ She repeated it to herself over and over again, willing it to happen.

"Kenz-can you help me grab some of my stuff? Just the essentials. Enough for a week. He'll be home soon after we get there and I really can't deal with him right now."

The girls moved through the bedroom quickly, throwing work clothes, pajamas, toiletries, and other personal effects into a suitcase. As expected, ten minutes in, the front door slammed open.

"Rory? Ace?"

She didn't respond. She heard footsteps nearing the bedroom so she quickly zipped up the case, handing it to Mackenzie, asking her to please take it outside to the waiting car. Mackenzie passed Logan in the hallway, giving him a disapproving glare.

"Ace please listen to me," he pleaded, coming through the door.

"Don't call me that." She snapped.

"Fine. Rory, please you have to listen to me...it's..."

"Not what you think?" Rory interrupted him, "please Logan, I don't want to hear it. I know what I saw."

"But Rory I swear it...she..."

"Didn't mean anything?" Rory cut him off again, "god Logan where have I heard that one before? Oh yeah, when you were telling me about how you slept with your sisters bridesmaids. Oh no wait, that was them telling me that. I know things have been tough around here. I know we've both been really busy. But if you not getting any for a couple weeks equates to...that...well then I just can't believe that I ever thought this was going to work." She was practically yelling at him now.

"Rory honestly please just listen to me. I was telling her no! I was telling her that I had a girlfriend and that I was her boss and that the entire thing was inappropriate."

"Yet you were still kissing her. And holding hands! I'm not an idiot Logan. I know what I saw. God, even Mackenzie saw you two!" Her hands flew around wildly, trying to convey her emotions.

"Why can't you trust me?"

"The thing is, I did trust you. But that went away when I walked in on my boyfriend kissing the one person at the office I can't stand on his first day there. I think that's reason enough."

"I know you're mad Rory..."

"Mad Logan? Mad? Honestly who wouldn't be? But it hurts too. It only took you one day. It only took one fucking day for that to happen. For everything I was so scared of to happen."

"Rory I promise I didn't want that to happen. She just kissed me as I was pushing her out the door! I swear!"

"No Logan. I need some space."

"Please don't do this. Please. Stay and we'll talk it out." His eyes and words begged her to stay.

"Logan. Please. I believe that you didn't want it to happen. But it did. And I can't do this right now. I can't wonder who's off with my boyfriend. I won't be the paranoid girlfriend who doesn't let you out of her sight. We would just resent each other. Please Logan just give me some space."

"Rory I love you, you know I wouldn't let that happen."

She shook her head, "I love you too. Don't doubt that. But the thing is, it already happened." She said that las sentence softly before exiting the room, tears streaming down her face.

Meeting Mackenzie outside, they got into the waiting taxi and sped away. As they left the neighborhood, Rory broke down.

"I'm sorry baby..." Mackenzie rubbed soothing circles on Rory's back, trying to calm her friend down.

"I don't know what I was thinking. I love him. But I can't do this. I can't."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"He didn't mean it. Don't hate him for it." Rory was hysterical now, burying her face in Mackenzie's shoulder.

"It's okay, it's okay."

"I just broke up with him. Or well I asked him for space. Oh god, oh god."

"Hon you two love each other, you'll figure it out."

"I just can't do this right now. If this happened on the first day...I mean..._Oh my god I just gave every slut in the building permission to sleep with him!"_

"No Ror-he wouldn't do that."

"I know. But they would. We saw that today. They would." A fresh wave of hysterical, choking sobs erupted, leaving Rory speechless.

"You'll figure it out baby. You both will."

They got back into the City a little while later, pulling up to Finn's hotel. Mackenzie had to get home, but she asked Rory how she was doing just about a million times. Each time Rory said she would be okay alone for the night. Rory checked into her hotel, just wanting to escape and go to sleep, to put this horrid day behind her. She dragged her feet as she tiredly opened the door to her room, flipping on the light. Next to the TV in the living room was a cart. Puzzled, she went to investigate.

_"Ace-_

_I know you're mad and hurt and I'm so sorry. I figured you might want to have a wallowing night so I sent supplies. I'm not going anywhere._

_I love you,_

_Logan" _

She found every delicious junkfood a proper movie night needed, complete with ice cream and a DVD copy of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. On the bottom shelves of the metal cart she found pillows, blankets, and slippers, neatly folded. Pulling out the soft blanket she found on the cart, she put the movie in and pressed play, ready to escape to the land of oompa loompas for a while. Damn him for knowing exactly what she needed.

* * *

**AN: I know you all probably hate me right now. I needed some drama. But I promise this is a Rogan. and I know Rory's being immature, but she's really hurt. **

**R&R please? :) **


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: I hit 200 reviews! Thank you guys so much 3 I love hearing feedback! **

**Also, I will be out of town for awhile for Christmas and I won't have internet. Ew. I know. I'll actually be in San Francisco...anyways I'll probably have one more chapter up before I leave. **

Disclaimer: Still don't own gilmore girls.

* * *

Rory sat on the couch in her hotel room, trying to concentrate on the delights of Willy Wonka and his chocolate factory, but somehow that just wasn't working. She surrounded herself with chocolate-y goodness and watched Charlie find his golden ticket, desperately trying to ignore all of the thoughts that kept bubbling up. No matter how hard she tried, she kept thinking of Logan. So she did the one thing that was sure to make her feel better.

"Who ever is waking me up at this ungodly hour better have coffee and an amazing explanation."

"Hey mom. I've got coffee but I'm kind of on the other side of the country. I could try fed-ex though?"

"What's up daughter of mine? I know you know better than to call me at three in the morning unless you have a fantastical reason."

"Is fantastical a word?"

"Who knows? Shouldn't you Miss Yale graduate?"

"Anyways I need your help."

"What's wrong baby?"

Rory explained the whole situation from start to finish, ending with the movie night supplies and the note.

"Now I'm just sitting here and I don't know what I did! I mean I know it wasn't his fault, but god mom it was his first day and he already was kissing someone else. I just didn't know how to handle it."

"You believe that he wasn't cheating?"

"I know he wasn't. I think I know it, but then there's that little twinge that keeps bringing up past events and that isn' fair, but it happens mom. I don't want to not trust him. I mean I do trust him. It's just hard when you see it with your own eyes."

"I know baby. But if you really think that he wasn't cheating, then there's no reason for you to be in a hotel room by yourself right now. I know where you get the running from and I hate to say that it's from me, but we Gilmore's can apologize too. Go home Rory. Go home and talk it out. You both need to talk it all out."

"I know. Thanks mom."

"Night hon."

Rory sighed, taking another bite of a Red Vine. Finally, she had had enough. She needed to get out of there.

* * *

After Rory left Logan needed to clear his head. Or forget it all together. Either way would work. After making the call to the hotel to set up Rory's inevitable movie night, he headed out.

By the time he got home from the local bar it was late, probably around one am. He sighed coming through the door, the image of Rory running out it still fresh in his mind. Apparently the three glasses of scotch hadn't helped much with that, but he didn't trust himself to drink any more than that. It's not that he would ever do anything to compromise his relationship with Rory, but he _was_ driving home and he didn't really want to get in an accident. Either way, the evening resulted in a not-so-drunk Logan who still couldn't push the night's events out of his all too clogged mind.

Still sighing, he walked over to flip on the light.

"Ace?"

Rory was sitting on the living room couch, curled up in a ball. Her knees were pulled into her chest and she was hugging them tightly, a vacant expression on her face.

"Rory…are you okay?" No answer. "Rory baby come here." He held his arms out to her, swallowing her trembling figure in his embrace.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"No baby its okay, it's okay." He stroked her hair, trying to help stop the tears streaming down her face.

"I just…I couldn't…"

"You couldn't what? Rory please tell me how to make this better."

"It's not you, it's me. Me and my running."

"But why did you run?"

"Same reason I ran at graduation."

"We never really talked about that. Not really. Are you sure you want to bring it up now?"

She turned to face him and nodded, a serious expression on her beautiful face. "Logan I promise I'll explain it to you but you can't say anything until I'm done okay?"

He nodded so she continued.

"I ran because that's what Gilmore's do—we run away. Hell, Haydens do it too. My mom did it when she had me and couldn't deal with the pressure of her parents' world. My dad just left. I'm not complaining about my mom's reasons and I'm glad she took me away from all of that, but my dad leaving really messed me up. I never knew when he was going to be there. When he came he was almost always out of a job or in the process of making some kind of bad investment. He missed birthdays, graduations, holidays, you name it and he wasn't there. When I was a little kid I didn't get it. He said that he loved me, but he still left. He said that he loved my mom, but he still left. So I worked hard and focused on school and literature and journalism. I threw myself into things that couldn't hurt me like my dad did because they couldn't leave me. It's how I grew up. I got closer to him as time went on and eventually he became a constant part of my life, but it took him almost twenty years. I just didn't want that to happen so I wouldn't let it. I didn't get too close to anything or anyone that could hurt me. Until you."

"Rory…I wouldn't do that."

Her voice softened, "I think I know that. I mean I think that everything logical in me screams that you wouldn't. But then there was still that tiny nagging voice that said that it was always a possibility. I mean you could. With my past relationships I always made sure to play it safe. I mean you might not get that at first, but Dean was a bag boy in the town I was from and Jess was a bibliophile that was related to Luke, my father figure. And Jess still left. Twice. But you see, I was never too invested in my relationships with them. I thought I was at the time. I mean I thought I was in love with Dean and maybe even Jess, but it's _nothing_ compared to you. No one can hurt me as much as you can and that's terrifying. I guess I know that everything that happened last June was my fault too. I was running again. I was running because I had never seen a stable relationship that made it past an engagement and that scared the hell out of me because I couldn't lose you. I guess it really backfired because I did lose you and those six months were a living hell. I knew that if I ever had a second chance, I didn't want that to happen again. I know things have been crazy over the last few weeks and we hadn't…you know…so when I saw you with her I thought that it made sense. Why would you want me when you could have her and hundreds of other girls like her? I thought it was my fears being confirmed and that you had had enough of me. I know it's silly, but it's the truth."

"Can I saw something now?"

She nodded.

"I know you're scared. I am too. I'm terrified. But the one thing you never have to be afraid of is me getting tired of you. You're it Rory. I was scared and I needed something permanent so I proposed which, I know now was the wrong thing to do at the time and it's not all your fault. But I still mean what I said then about wanting to spend the rest of my life with you. If I have to wait for you to be ready, then I'll wait. Because there is no one else for me Ace. I promise I'm not going anywhere. I made that mistake once and I know I hurt you by walking away. I'm so, so sorry. We both made our mistakes but we learned from them. Next time something makes you feel like this please tell me so I can fix it okay? If you tell me what's wrong we can fix it together. Telling me won't make me leave you. I'm not going anywhere Ace."

She didn't know what to say, so she just leaned over and kissed him. It felt like coming home.

* * *

Lying in bed a couple hours later, Rory traced the lines on Logan's palm as he ran his other hand through her hair.

"No more running?"

"I'm not going to lie to you it's going to be hard sometimes and I'm going to want to, but no more running." She vowed, looking up at him and grinning. "I'm home."

"I love you."

"I guess you're all right." She smirked up at him.

"Mean!"

She rolls her eyes, "you've been spending too much time with me and my mom."

"Maybe. I'm not complaining though. So anyways, how is the older Lorelai doing?"

"She's good. Her and Luke are still testing the waters and all that. The inn is doing well and she's happy."

"Well that's good. I liked Luke...well when he wasn't yelling at me at your grandparents' vow renewal. Then he was just scary."

Rory giggled, remembering that night. "So anyways what now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I kind of don't want today to repeat itself. It was your first day and you already had a crazy girl kissing you."

"Yeah I suppose that would be a problem..."

"Uh-huh."

"Well what do you want to do?"

She sighed, "I don't know. I want to tell people about us, but I'm terrified of the repercussions. Especially with the timing of my employment and all of that. People will think I'm some sort of spy or that I just got the job because of you or even that I only got back with you _because_ your dad bought the paper. None of which are true, of course."

"Gee I sure hope not Ace. But yeah, I do see the issue there. It's your call Ace."

"I was afraid you might say that."

"Pro/Con list?"

"You know me so well."

"I'll start. Pro: We don't have to hide anything anymore."

"Pro: I get to keep all those annoying girls away from you."

"Pro: We'll see a lot more of each other."

"Pro: People will stop asking me annoying questions about how I know you."

"Pro: People will stop asking me annoying questions about my relationship status."

"Con: My boss might be mad."

"Pro: _I_ am your boss's boss so he really can't do anything."

"Con: People will ask a bunch of annoying questions about our personal lives."

"Pro: I know you're really good at dealing with annoying people. I mean you lived with Paris Geller..."

"Con: People will make assumptions about how I got my job."

"Pro: If it gets that bad I can always call a staff meeting to discuss it."

"Con: I don't want people to think I'm getting special treatment."

"Pro: You won't be getting special treatment if you don't want it."

"Con..."

"Yes?"

"Richard and Emily and your mother are sure to find out soon enough."

He groaned, "okay but that one was kind of inevitable. I mean they _are_ family."

"True."

"Anything else you want to add to the list?"

"I...uhh...no I can't think of anything else right now," she admitted.

"Well then it sounds like the pros have it. We'll tell people."

"But only if they ask."

"Sure Ace."

Things were about to get very interesting very fast.

* * *

**AN: Half of me was considering ending the story with them talking it out and getting back together, but then I realized that maybe I can keep it going a little while longer. I hate how Rory and Logan don't talk anything out in the show (too many medical emergencies and grand gestures) so I decided that it was time to hear a rational explanation for things. I hope you liked it! PLEASE let me know if you have any suggestions for upcoming events? I have already decided against pregnancy or major character death though**

**I can't help it, I'm an attention whore :) Reviews=new chapters xx**


	18. Chapter 18

**Ugh. It's been a little while, I know. But basically I couldn't decide what I wanted to do next…thank you for all of the amazing reviews though! I love reading them! Basically I had really bad writers block…and the writing quality of the last chapter was awful and that was making me mad. Anyways, here's the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I did not receive Gilmore Girls for Christmas this year…but I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season!**

* * *

"Did you hear?"

By the next day the office was ablaze with speculation as to why Adele Winter's desk was suddenly vacant. Naturally highly fabricated and completely ridiculous stories formed as the overly chatty staff attempted to guess the reason for her sudden departure. Among the wildest of stories Rory heard was one about "journalistic integrity" and being questioned by the FBI. Some of the more tame ones included a bad breakup and a move to Hawaii. Most of the rumors were rather entertaining actually so Rory and Mackenzie sat back and giggled about the crazy ones, sharing delight in being the only two (besides Logan of course) to actually know the truth.

While alone in the break room later in the afternoon Rory turned to her friend. "So Kenzie what do you think?"

"About what?"

"The oh so lovely Miss Winter's dismissal. Abducted by aliens or finally admitted to the psych ward?"

"I'm thinking the second one. Aliens wouldn't want her."

They both let out a series of giggles before Rory added, "okay, okay. We're being immature here…"

"That bitch deserves it!"

"True."

"So. Hear anything even remotely close to the truth?"

"Nope. Although it's bound to come out sooner or later, you know how these things are."

"Are you ready if it does?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Not really." Mackenzie smirked. "That's what you get for sleeping with the boss."

"Ha ha. Very funny."

Lowering her voice slightly, Mackenzie added a tone of seriousness to her voice, "No really, what did you and 'Mac' decide about all of this."

Rory sighed, running a hand through her hair before taking a long gulp of her coffee, "if people find out, then they find out. It's pretty likely that someone saw Adele on the way up to his office and I mean we work with a bunch of reporters. Let's hope for the sake of the paper that they can put two and two together."

"You want them to find out?"

"God no! I was just making a point...I hope there are decent reporters here for the sake of the paper, but I definitely hope they do not find out. I mean its bound to come out sooner or later but we'll deal with it as it comes up. I don't even want to think about it right now."

"Fine, fine, but I wasn't the one who brought it up remember?"

"Shuddup."

"Mature."

"You know me."

"Yes I do."

"We should get back to work."

"We should."

"Later Vanderbilt."

"Later Gilmore."

* * *

Later that day Rory was back at her desk, happily typing away at her latest piece. The whispers continued but she wasn't too worried, none of the rumors even hinted at any facet of the truth. Logan had even managed to call her during the day to make sure everything was all right and through good use of the nickname "Mac," the call went unnoticed.

As Rory collected her belongings, ready to make a somewhat early exit from the office, she managed to catch the tail end of a conversation in the break room. Feigning the act of feeding her well-known coffee addiction, she stepped inside as to hear it better.

"So anyways because Lana only works part time after the baby thing, she gets into the office late and she _heard everything_."

"No!"

"Would I lie to you?"

"I don't know! No? Well I mean you know how office gossip is! Just go on!"

Rory froze. Who was Lana and what did she hear? The two girls hadn't noticed her yet. The one who knew the story was tall and blonde, not necessarily gorgeous, but not bad looking either. The other one was a red-head with pale skin and a patch of freckles on each cheek. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she leaned forward on the table, intently listening to the first girl.

The blonde girl started talking again. "Okay fine. So anyways Lana needed to go see Mr. Huntzberger to arrange something about her hours right? She didn't have an appointment or anything but she thought since it was so late in the day, she could just head up there. She was in the next room over talking to his secretary when she heard Mr. Huntzberger start yelling at Adele, telling her that he had a girlfriend, he wasn't interested in her, and she was fired. Lana said it sounded like she kissed him or made a pass at him or something and so he fired her."

"Whoa. I always knew Adele was a slut but I mean going after the boss on his first day…"

"As stupid as it was, I mean it's Logan freaking Huntzberger. Of course Adele was going after him. I mean who wouldn't?"

"Uh me. Wait, you would make a pass at him?"

"Hell-o? Logan Huntzberger, multi-millionaire, set to inherit Huntzberger Publishing Group and become a multi-_billion_aire. Plus that man is definitely easy on the eyes. Pity he has a girlfriend though."

"So you _would_ make a pass at him."

"Well…nah, not since he has a girlfriend. Plus it didn't really work for Adele, now did it?"

"I guess not."

"I mean someone can back me up, if that boy was on the market then maybe…"

The two gossiping girls finally noticed Rory standing there. She was stirring her coffee, trying to appear uninterested when in fact she was frozen in shock. She knew Logan had that effect and she knew the truth was bound to come out, but mentally telling herself that was nothing compared to the real thing. Their eyes suddenly bored holes into her back, obviously about to add her into their conversation.

"What about you Gilmore? Would you make a pass at him?"

"Sorry who?" Rory turned around, pretending to have only heard bits and pieces of what was going on.

"Logan Huntzberger."

"Our boss? Didn't you say he was in a relationship?"

"Yep."

Carefully she stated, "I wouldn't try to get with a man who was in a relationship."

"But it's Logan Huntzberger!"

The redhead piped up warningly, "Mel!" _Ahh this is Mel and Bri_, Rory thought. Mackenzie had told her that this pair had expressed significant interest in the matter at hand.

"Doesn't mean I would make a pass at someone who was, as your story indicates, in a happy relationship."

"You think he's in a happy relationship?" Bri sounded a little shocked.

"Well," Rory chose her words carefully, "if he really did push Adele off of him like that, claiming immediately after that he had not only told her he was in a relationship, but was uninterested prior to the incident, yes, I can imagine that this relationship means something to him. After all, according to you he did fire the girl for coming on to him. If he wasn't in a happy relationship his anger level wouldn't have been that high."

"I guess…" Bri sounded a little skeptical.

"You don't think Logan Huntzberger could be in a happy relationship?"

"Well I mean he has quite the reputation. With all the women he's photographed with…"

It was Mel's turn to pipe in, "wait Gilmore I'm pretty sure I've seen you in one of those photos. From a year ago? Some East Coast party for an organization I did a story on."

_Shit, shit, shit._ Rory thought. _No wait, I don't have to tell her the whole truth…maybe just a little piece of it._ She shrugged, playing it off as coolly as she could manage, "maybe. I went to Yale with him and his parents are friends with my grandparents. We've been to a few of the same society parties." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't necessarily the whole truth either.

"Oh. What's he like?" Mel was getting too nosy for Rory's liking.

"Oh you know, arrogant, polite, typical society boy. But he was nice. Good writer too." In the off chance that this got back to Logan, she knew the last part would boost his already too-inflated ego.

"You know this how?" Mel started to look at her with a glimmer of suspicion in her eye.

"I was his editor at the Yale Daily News." Again, the truth. The same truth she had already shared with Adele and Kate a while back. In fact, she was surprised that Mel and Bri hadn't heard when she told almost the whole office how she knew him upon his arrival.

"You were?"

"Uh-huh."

"And now he's _your_ boss. Funny isn't it?"

"Sure."

"So tell me the truth, how much ass-kissing did you have to do at the Daily News?"

"Excuse me?"

"You had Logan Huntzberger working for you, obviously some kissing up was involved."

"I did nothing of the sort. Logan isn't like that."

"He's not?"

"Nope. He was a good writer and that's that."

"But I mean the first time you met him were you star struck?" Okay it was official; Mel wasn't on Rory's good side.

Rory sighed, "nope. The first time we had a conversation I believe I insulted him for a good five minutes. I didn't like him one bit."

"Seriously?"

Now that Rory was pretty sure this was going to get back to Logan some how, she wanted to add in one more little memory. "Yep. I think the next time we argued the name 'butt-faced miscreant' was used."

"Did you use it or him?"

"Me of course."

"Seriously?"

"You say that a lot, but yep." Glancing at her watch, she continued, "well I have to get going. I'll see you tomorrow ladies."

Grabbing her coffee, Rory got out of there as quickly as she could, leaving an awestruck pair behind her.

After she had made it a decent distance down the hall, she heard their conversation resume in hushed tones. Yeah, she sure gave them something new to talk about.

She wondered if she would regret that decision or not. She hadn't told them anything substantial she knew, but if people in the office could come up with rumors about FBI questionings, then she knew a lot was possible. Oh well.

She standing in the elevator next to another reporter, almost out the door when she heard the girl call out to her.

"I'm not going to tell anyone."

Rory whipped around, "excuse me?"

The girl standing next to her had a serious expression on her face.

"I'm not going to tell anyone," she repeated.

"Tell anyone what?"

"That you're the girlfriend."

Rory paled, glancing around quickly before realizing that they were in an elevator alone with no one else to hear them.

"You must be Lana."

"That would be me."

"How did you know?"

"Well I was in the office last night…"

"Yeah I heard."

"Well I saw you and another girl run out of Mr. Huntzberger's office after I heard Adele hitting on him. Then after he yelled at her, he ran out after you. He would have only run like that if he knew his girlfriend or someone who would have told his girlfriend saw."

"Smart."

"So it's true?"

"You really aren't going to tell anyone?"

Lana shook her head, "I couldn't imagine what you would go through if people knew. Talk about lack of privacy. And don't worry, I'm the only one that knows the truth."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Not all reporters are bad you know." Lana was teasing now.

"Haha I know, I just have a hard time trusting people with this particular subject matter. Especially now."

"I understand."

"Wait so one more thing, how come you told people about the rest of the story."

Lana shrugged, "if people know the truth, or at least the version I told them, then they'll stop asking questions. A girlfriend is a whole lot less interesting than a mysterious firing."

"You did this so we could have privacy?"

"Once upon a time I used to go to boarding school with someone named Honor. I think you've heard of her? Well she was the kindest person I met at that place. I couldn't have done it without her. She has this brother and she was particularly fond of one of…okay well his only…girlfriend. I promised I'd keep an eye out for him."

Rory smiled, yeah, this was a tiny world she lived in. "I'll have to thank Honor... But for now, thank you so much. I mean it."

"It's really no problem."

The elevator doors slid open just then.

"Well I'll see you tomorrow Rory. Have a good evening."

"Thanks Lana, you too."

In that moment Rory thanked her lucky stars that Honor Huntzberger was around.

* * *

**Sucky ending, I know. I just wanted to publish a chapter!**

**Let me know what you guys think!**


	19. Chapter 19

**One word for you: finals.**

**Thank you so much to my amazing beta CopperboomLulu who got this back to me in record time and helped me work out the details! couldn't have done it without her!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any of the places mentioned in the story**

* * *

"Honey I'm home!" Rory threw open the door to the Palo Alto house with a flourish, calling out into the empty hallway.

Following closely behind her, Logan closed the door and locked it. "Ace we drove home together..." He walked down the hallway after her, dropping his keys in the bowl by the door, shedding his suit jacket and briefcase as he went.

"So?" She flopped down on the couch in the living room, grinning up at him.

"So you don't really need to announce your arrival if I came in with you."

"But it's fun! Like that guy in Princess Diaries 2!"

"They made two of those things?"

"Hello? Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews? Of course they made two! It's Julie Andrews!"

"Julie Andrews eh? Well then I apologize for my inadequate knowledge of pre-teen chick flicks." He rolled his eyes sarcastically, but sent a smirk her way.

Rory gasped, "It's not just another pre-teen chick flick! It's a classic coming of age tale about a young American girl who finds out she's royalty and it's a lengthy book series too! Meg Cabot would be offended."

"My sincerest apologies."

"Hrmph."

"Besides this whole Princess thing you appear to be in a good mood today."

"I guess you could say that."

"Any particular reason?"

She raised an eyebrow before glaring at him, "My sunny disposition requires an explanation?"

"No... but you just seem unusually... energetic for someone who just got home from a long day of work. I mean especially considering you haven't had coffee yet..."

She shrugged, heading into the kitchen and turning on the coffee pot; just as he knew she was about to do, "I made a friend." After humming to herself for a moment, she shot up, "Oh! I have to call Honor!"

Logan's brow raised in confusion, "Honor? My sister Honor?"

"How many Honors do you know?"

"Only the one. So then why are you calling my sister?"

"Because it's thanks to her sunny personality that the entire office knows the truth about the er...incident without knowing my connection to it. You look good, I stay anonymous, it's a win win."

"And how is my sister involved in this?"

"She made the right friends in boarding school."

"Still being cryptic Ace."

"Today I was just about to leave work and meet up with you when I heard these two girls talking about the events of the other night in the break room. Unlike everyone else in the office they were actually getting it right which kind of terrified me at first. So, employing my old DAR snooping methods I was able to listen in discreetly. Apparently someone heard your whole conversation with Adele and basically informed the office that she wasn't abducted by aliens. Oh yeah I also learned that the fact that the office knows you have a girlfriend is discouraging some of the females from trying to jump you." The last sentence earned her a smirk. "Seriously Huntzberger? Annyyywayyyyssss on the way out for real, I was in the elevator and I met the girl who heard; her name is Lana and long story short she was friends with Honor in boarding school and she promised her she'd watch out for you. So she told people enough to get them to stop looking but not everything she knew, like my identity."

"That's quite the story."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing! I'm just surprised at how many people at this paper are somehow tied to people we know back home."

"Only two right? Kenzie and Lana."

"Them. And Seth in marketing is related to Robert."

"Huh. Small world."

"Tiny."

"What you don't think this is a coincidence?"

"I'm just saying it's suspicious."

"I don't know. Maybe East Coast life isn't for everyone and I mean _we_ moved out here! It's not so highly unlikely. San Francisco is one of only a few major cities on the West Coast."

"I guess. But first Steph's cousin, then Honor's friend, then Robert's cousin? I mean it's relations through very specific people that everyone knows we're close with. Steph is your close friend and obviously mine too, Honor is close with both of us, and well everyone _thinks_ Robert and I are close. It's just interesting."

"So someone's setting this up? For what? Who? Where's the motive here Logan?"

He sighed. He definitely didn't want to be having this conversation right now, even though he had brought the concept up. "I don't know. Maybe it's nothing. Just old paranoia talking."

"I mean I see your point but these people haven't done anything to suggest they're going to be a problem for us right? If anything all they've done is understand where we're at."

"Yeah you're right."

"All right well I'm starving. Chinese or Thai?" Newly energized on her second mug of coffee, Rory pranced over to the drawer that held the take out menus. "Ooh! Or pizza?!"

He laughed; glad the tension of the moment was over. "Whatever you want Ace. I could go for anything."

"Pizza?" She grinned at him shyly, flashing him her classic puppy-dog eyes.

_Yeah,_ he thought, _she can get away with anything looking like that._

"Sure. Everything?" She rolled her eyes. "Except the green stuff of course," he amended.

"You know me too well Huntzberger."

"Comes with the territory." It was his turn to smile at her.

"I'm going to take a shower I'll be done in a few."

He nodded at her before dialing the number for the local Dominoes. Just a few months with Rory living here and the person picking up already knew the order. All he had to do was say "Hey it's Logan…" and the person working there would just say "Be there in 20 minutes!" Yeah, he still didn't know where it all went.

Despite his unwillingness to continue arguing with Rory about the…strange occurrences at work, he decided that a little research of his own wouldn't hurt.

After a couple quick searches he found that all three employees had been working for Huntzberger publications for reasonable periods of time, Kenzie was from the area, Lana was from the East Coast but she had gone to boarding school in Northern California so the Honor story checked out, (she had been employed by HPG since about six months after graduating from Stanford), and Seth had made the move about a year ago after graduating from a small liberal arts college. Nothing seemed too suspicious so he decided that it was just old paranoia talking and he left it at that.

Rory was right. Where was the motive? It was just a funny coincidence. Right?

* * *

Once the real story had gotten out, gossip about Adele had decreased substantially. The new topic was a game of sorts called "Who is Logan Huntzberger's girlfriend?", Naturally, Rory refrained from partaking in any such activities, often running to avoid them.

She knew it was kind of pathetic and immature, but she really didn't want someone to see her and make the connection, especially considering they already knew that she and Logan knew each other in college.

As Rory made her way back to her desk after a particularly stealthy escape, she came across Lana and Mackenzie, sitting with their heads together, giggling softly.

Mackenzie was the first to look up and notice her friend standing there, "Hey Rory!"

Rory smiled.

"Oh sorry this is Lana."

"Actually we met yesterday in the elevator. How are you Lana?"

"I'm well. And you?"

"Tired of all the running, but it's okay."

"Running?"

She nodded, "To avoid conversations involving Logan's…attachments."

Mackenzie looked up surprised, "She knows?"

Rory laughed, "Yeah, Lana is friends with Logan's sister Honor. Oh actually Lana, Honor said she sends her love."

"I'll have to call her later."

"So how do you know Logan's sister?"

"Boarding school actually. It turns out there is an upside to your parents shipping you across the country."

Kenzie's brown eyes widened, "Boarding school? Wasn't that terrible?"

"Kenz! You're a Vanderbilt. I mean Steph went to boarding school!"

"Yeah but I was brought up in California! I went to Palo Alto high school and I didn't really go far from home when I got into college. I mean my side of the family kind of separates from the whole trust-fund, boarding school ordeal."

"You still went to Stanford…" Lana raised a groomed eyebrow. Rory had a valid point. Lana and Kenzie had actually met in college.

"Believe it or not I actually got in with my 4.0 GPA and 2300 on the SAT thank you very much."

"Hey, hey I'm not trying to insult you here. I mean of all people I get it. My mom moved me to Stars Hollow to get me away from the whole 'trust-fund boarding school ordeal' and I was Valedictorian in high school so I guess my last name didn't get me into Yale."

"Well I can say you two are very, very lucky to be distanced from the society crap of the East Coast. At least raised out of it I guess. But boarding school wasn't all bad. It was better than being at home, that was for sure."

"Oh Lana I'm sorry."

She shrugged, "I'm happy now. I have a husband and a son who I absolutely adore, while still maintaining a career and I really wouldn't have it any other way."

"Sounds like you got your happily ever after."

Lana laughed, "Yeah I suppose you could say that. It's not as luxurious as the life I used to lead but I'm happy."

"Like OMG you can't have $500 Dior sunglasses and a Birkin bag? How do you live with yourself?"

They all laughed at the accuracy of Kenzie's mocking seeing as they all knew people who would actually say things like that.

"I was about to go grab some lunch, anyone else want to join?" Rory got up, grabbing her purse as she went.

"Sounds good!"

"I'm in!"

As the trio were sitting at the restaurant laughing about this and that, Rory's cell went off.

"Hello?" She was still giggling slightly as she flipped her phone open.

"Hey Ace."

"Oh hi Logan. What's up?"

"I just wanted to ask if you wanted to get some lunch but it appears I've caught you at a bad time."

"Oh babe I'm sorry I'm out with the girls… Tomorrow?"

"Sure thing. I'll see you later. I think I might have to stay a little late so I'll have a car come to bring you home."

"Logan I'm fine taking a cab. Really."

"Nonsense! We already paid for the car Ace, might as well use it."

"It's so…conspicuous though!"

"So?"

"So what first year reporter can afford a car service?!"

"Everyone knows you come from East Coast society Ace."

"Ughh Logan!"

"We'll get you a car soon then okay? A nice Lexus or BMW or something."

"Logan."

"What?"

"Seriously. I don't need a nice car."

"Fine! We'll go car shopping this weekend and _you_ can pick."

"Thank you!"

"Anytime Ace. Okay I'm going to go grab lunch while I can. I'll call you later okay?"

"Okay."

"Oh and please just take the car today. I don't want you to have to worry about taking a taxi all the way to Palo Alto."

"Fine. Just this once."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

She hung up with a smile on her face to find Lana and Mackenzie staring at her with amused expressions.

"What?"

"You guys are like an old, rich married couple."

"Shut up! No we're not!"

Lana nodded, agreeing with Kenzie, "Yeah you kind of are. I mean when Honor said you two bickered like a married couple I didn't really know what she meant, but I mean…"

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No! It's just entertaining for us outsiders."

"Well I'm glad you're amused."

"Oh yes, very amused. Now who wants more French Fries?"

"I knew there was a reason we were friends! And coffee. Definitely need more coffee."

Rory smiled. Maybe things could shape up after all.

* * *

Logan sat in his office and sighed. He had another meeting with his father in a couple of days and as always, Mitchum wouldn't accept anything less than perfection from him.

The paper was shaping up nicely, organization was improving and circulation was already up by a pretty good amount, but Logan was still worried.

Telling himself that he was a grown man and being afraid of his father's opinion was silly, he forced himself to leave the office and actually get home at a decent hour.

"Ror?"

"Hey Logan! I'm in the dining room." Just hearing her voice calmed him down significantly.

She was sitting at the dining room table in front of her laptop, still typing away. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she wore her old Yale sweats. Oh no wait, those were _his_ old Yale sweats. He wasn't quite sure how, but seeing Rory in his worn out clothing was a huge turn on; somehow she managed to look absolutely gorgeous.

"Hey Ace."

"What's wrong?" Her brow furrowed as she looked up at his tired face.

"Nothing." He lied.

"Logan Huntzberger don't lie to me. I know your every tell." She tried to make her voice sound threatening but the concern was evident in her eyes. "Oh God it's that meeting with your father isn't it?"

He still didn't get how she knew him so well. "Maybe. I don't know. I mean it's silly right? I'm a grown man! I'm the fucking CEO of the company now!" The frustration in his voice was so evident; he couldn't believe he had held it in this long.

"Logan, listen to me, you may be the CEO of the company but he's still your father. You had a rough childhood and I'm so, so sorry you had to go through that. Anyone in their right mind would be nervous about something like this. But know that you've done a fantastic job since you got handed the keys to the kingdom so to speak. I mean you're running a company from the other side of the nation _and_ you're in charge of shaping up a newspaper. I am so proud of you and he will be too. In his own way."

"I love you."

"I love you too. Now get changed. We're having a movie night."

A few minutes later he had taken off his restricting business attire and now donned much more comfortable sweat pants and a Yale t-shirt. He made his way downstairs to find her sitting by the TV, bowls of all his favorite junk foods on the table in front of them. She never ceased to amaze him.

"So what is it tonight? Willy Wonka?"

She shook her head, "Tarantino marathon."

"Really?"

"It's your night babe. Plus I'm always down for some Pulp Fiction."

"You're amazing Ace."

"I know!" She smiled at him giddily as she pressed play on the remote.

He crawled onto the couch next to her, pulling her tiny figure flush against his own. She snuggled into his chest as the opening credits began, the smell of her shampoo washing over him. Yeah, he could get used to this.


End file.
